»^S*:a3f^Si-sS!!5K;<:JS^i,^^ 


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Frontier  Sketches 


BY 


FRANK  W.  CALKINS 


CHICAGO : 
DONOHUE,  HENNEBERRY  &  CO. 


Copyrighted,  1893 

BY 

DONOHUE,  HENNEBERRY  &  CO. 
AH  Rights  Reserved. 

Frontier  Sketches. 


PONOHUE  &   KENNI£BERRY,   PKINTERS   AND   BINDERS,   CHICAGO. 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE. 

I.  A  Piece  of  Frontier  Strategy 5 

II.  The  Mystery  of  the  FiV^  Brand 18 

III.  Corson's  Wife 28 

IV.  The  "  Moaning  Rock  "  at  Bogey's  Bend 40 

V.  Mortimer  Halleck's  Adventure 54 

VI.  The  Mystery  of  the  Valley 64 

VII.  Followed 73 

VIII.  Olaf  Helgerson's  Pay 83 

IX.  A  Wild  Night-Ride. 97 

X.  Carlen  and  his  Comet 10.5 

XI.  Caught  in  a  Blizzard 115 

XII.  A  Fortunate  Cyclone 125 


FRONTIER  SKETCHES. 


I. 

A  PIECE  OF  FRONTIER  STRATEGY. 

In  the  early  days  of  the  settlement  of  Wisconsin 
there  were  neither  land  surveys  nor  government  laws 
by  which  lands  could  be  held  with  perfect  security  by 
the  settlers.  There  was,  however,  in  most  counties  an 
unwritten  law,  much  like  that  which  governs  claim- 
taking  in  mining  districts,  and  which  generally  pro- 
tected the  claimant  who  complied  witii  its  requirements. 
These  requirements  which  were  adopted  in  nearly  all 
the  new  communities  as  "  neighborhood  by-laws,"  and 
in  most  of  them  strictly  enforced  against  all  persons 
who  tried  to  violate  them,  were  usually  something  like 
the  following : 

The  claimant,  if  he  were  of  age  or  the  head  of  a 
family,  was  entitled  to  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of 
timber  land  and  the  same  amount  of  prairie  land,  which 
he  must  first  locate,  and  then  proceed  to  measure  by 
"  stepping  it  off." 

There  was  usually  some  one  in  every  organized  town- 
ship who  was  regarded  as  an  expert  in  measuring  land. 
Eight  hundred  and  eighty  steps  of  three  feet  each 
along  the  four  sides  of  a  square,  beginning  at  a  given 
landmark  and  returning  to  it,  were  allowed  as  a  quarter- 
section. 

The  corners  were  established  on  the  prairie  by  marked 


6  ,  FRONTIER    SKETCHES. 

stakes,  and  in  timber  by  blazing  trees  and  carving  the 
takers  name  or  initials  upon  them.  Then  within  a 
reasonable  time,  say  three  months — the  time  was  not 
definitely  fixed — the  squatter  must  build  a  cabin  and 
move  his  family,  if  he  had  one,  his  effects  if  he  had  not, 
into  it,  and  there  make  his  home  until  the  land  should 
be  survej^ed  and  "  come  into  market,"  when,  by  appear- 
ing either  himself  or  in  the  person  of  the  "  township 
bidder,"  at  the  regular  "  land  sale "  for  his  district, 
bidding  the  minimum  price,  one  dollar  and  a  quarter  an 
acre,  and  paying  the  money  to  the  registrar  of  the  land- 
office,  he  received  a  government  patent  which  made  his 
claim  valid  and  final. 

It  was  not  well  for  an  interloper  to  attempt  to  jump 
one  of  these  claims,  or  to  bid  more  than  the  minimum 
price  above  a  claimant  who  had  complied  with  the  by- 
laws of  his  district. 

Generally,  as  I  have  said,  the  squatter,  who  com- 
plied with  these  "  right  of  discovery  "  land  laws,  was 
safe  enough  to  hold  his  claim,  and  if  he  had  not  the 
ready  money  saved  to  pay  for  it  at  the  land  sale,  he 
^ould  easily  borrow  it  of  money-lenders  in  his  district. 
But  sometimes  there  were  disputes,  in  which  whole 
neighborhoods  took  sides,  and  occasionally  a  squatter's 
claim  was  the  scene  of  an  affray  in  which  blood  was  shed. 

Two  young  men,  Jacob  and  Jared  Stebbins,  who 
lived  in  the  region  between  Blue  Mounds  and  the 
Wisconsin,  very  early  in  the  history  of  that  country, 
belonged  to  the  pioneer  class  above  mentioned.  Their 
father  had  mov^ed  up  there  from  Galena  some  time 
before  the  Black  Hawk  troubles,  and,  though  they  were 
but  lads  of  sixteen  and  seventeen,  they  had  taken  part 


FRONTIER   SKETCHES.  7 

in  the  defense  of  Mound  Fort,  and  in  the  battle  of 
Wisconsin  Heights. 

As  they  grew  up  and  Jake  came  of  age,  they  became 
ambitious  to  have  land  of  their  own.  They  had  helped 
clear  grub,  break  up,  fence  and  cultivate  one  hundred 
acres  of  land  on  their  father's  "'patent"  in  Mound 
Creek  Yalle}'',  and  now  it  was  high  time  to  begin  for 
themselves. 

Up  to  this  period  the  broad  "Wisconsin,  unfordable 
except  in  the  driest  seasons,  had  acted  as  a  check  to 
the  tide  of  Northern  and  Western  settlement  in  their 
district.  There  was  much  choice  land  upon  the  other 
side,  and  some  two  years  before  Jake  was  twenty-one 
the  boys  had  been  across  the  river  hunting,  and  had 
staked  and  blazed  claims  for  themselves — two  "quart- 
ers"— upon  one  of  which  they  had  subsequently 
erected  a  snug  log  cabin,  which  they  had  covered  with 
boards  of  their  own  make. 

They  spent  the  greater  part  of  two  winters  in  this 
cabin,  hunting  and  splitting  rails  during  the  short 
days,  and  during  the  spring,  summer  and  autumn 
while  working  on  their  father's  place,  they  watched 
jealously  for  any  movement  toward  a  settlement  on 
the  "  other  side. " 

The  winter  before  Jake  came  of  age  several  other 
claims  were  taken,  above  their  own,  on  the  west  side 
of  the  river,  on  Sac  Prairie,  one  of  the  most  fertile 
prairies  of  the  state.  The  boys  now  determined  to 
move  over  finally  so  soon  as  they  should  gather  the 
spring  crops  upon  their  father's  place. 

In  March,  upon  going  home  from  their  claim,  they 
left  their  cooking  utensils  and  other  belongings  inside 
the  cabin,  and  closed  the  door  and  window  by  nailing 


8  FRONTIER    SKETCHES. 

some  heavy  strips  across  tbem.  It  was  not  until  May, 
after  corn  planting,  that  they  moved  across  the  river. 
They  swam  over  two  yoke  of  steers,  their  breaking 
team,  and  rafted  across  their  wagon,  ploughs  and  some 
other  effects.  It  took  them  nearly  all  day  to  cross, 
and  it  was  late  in  the  evening  when  they  reached  their 
cabin. 

The  cabin  had  been  built  in  the  edge  of  the  valley 
timber,  and  they  had  cleared  a  space  around  it.  As 
they  drove  out  into  this  open  space,  they  were  sur- 
prised by  the  yelping  of  a  dog,  which  came  rushing 
toward  them,  and  flew  at  the  faces  of  the  steers,  so 
that  they  halted  and  lowered  their  horns  to  fight  off 
the  brute.  Jared  ran  forward  and  drove  the  animal 
away  with  his  whip,  giving  it  a  cut  which  sent  it  back 
to  the  cabin. 

"  Somebody's  here  ? "  said  he. 

Jared  went  forward.  The  dog  snarled  at  him  from 
under  the  covered  wagon  as  be  approached.  As  he 
came  up  to  the  cabin,  he  saw  that  the  boards  had  been 
ripped  from  the  door,  and  that  a  light  was  shining 
through  a  crack. 

"  Hallo,  thar ! "  he  called,  standing  close  to  the  door. 

There  was  a  moment  of  waiting,  a  murmur  of  voices 
inside ;  then  the  door  swung  inward,  and  the  tall,  gaunt 
figure  of  a  middle-aged  woman  stood  in  the  open  space. 

"  Who  be  ye?  "  she  inquired,  gruffly. 

"  I'm  one  of  the  owners  of  this  claim,"  said  Jared, 
"an'  wo'd  like  ter  shar'  the  cabin  with  ye  till  we  c'n 
get  some  supper.'' 

"  Wal'  ye  can't  come  in  hyer!"  said  the  woman^ 
coolly.     "  This  hyer  claim  an'  this  hyer  cabin  b'longs 


PRONTIEB   SKETCHES. 


"  Who  be  ye  ?  "  she  inquired,  gruflay.— Page  8. 


10  tRONTIEU   SKETCHES. 

ter  us?"  and  she  stepped  back  to  shut  the  door  in  his 
face. 

Jared  was  hot-blooded  and  was  naturally  angry  at 
this  turn  of  events.  He  sprang  towards  the  closing 
door,  and  threw  all  his  weiglit  against  it.  The  woman 
was  large  and  strong  enough  to  have  offered  stout 
resistance,  but  she  was  taken  by  surprise ;  the  door 
flew  out  of  her  grasp,  back  upon  its  hinges,  and  Jared 
was  propelled  against  her  with  a  force  that  made  her 
stagger  half-way  across  the  room. 

Jared  had  gained  admission,  but  found  himself 
facing  two  big,  bony  men,  who  had  arisen  from  their 
stools  before  the  fire-place  as  he  burst  the  door  in. 

They  sprang  at  him,  knocked  him  over,  sat  on  him — 
one  on  his  shoulders  and  the  other  on  his  legs — and 
then,  with  buckskin  straps,  proceeded  to  bind  him 
hand  and  foot. 

Jared  struggled  for  a  moment,  and  then,  finding  it 
useless,  gave  it  up.  He  was  soon  relieved  of  the  weight 
of  his  captors,  but  lay  helplessly  bound  upon  the  floor. 

All  this  had  happened  so  quickly  that  when  Jake, 
who  had  heard  the  scuffle,  bad  tied  the  steers  and  come 
cautiously  up  to  the  door,  gun  in  hand,  he  found  him- 
self confronted  by  the  muzzles  of  two  rifles,  which 
protruded  tlirough  a  crack  which  had  been  made  by 
removing  a  board  from  the  nearest  window. 

"Drop  that  gun!"  came  from  within  the  cabin. 

But  instead  of  dropping  his  weapon,  the  quick-witted 
young  settler  sprang  to  one  side,  and  ran  behind  the 
wagon,  under  which  the  belligerent  dog  was  still  bark- 
ing.    Then  he  called  to  his  brother : 

"  Say,  Jerd,  have  they  hurt  ye  ? " 


&KONTIER   SKETCHES.  ll 

Jared  shoated  back  tliat  tliey  hadn't,  but  that  two 
men  had  tied  him  hand  and  foot. 

Jake  picked  up  a  club  and  threw  it  at  the  dog  to  drive 
it  away  ;  then  he  called  to  the  men  to  know  what  they 
meant  by  such  outrageous  acts.  One  of  them — the  old 
man — answered  back  that  they  had  taken  up  a  man  for 
assault  and  battery,  and  meant  only  to  protect  them- 
selves and  their  rights. 

Jake  told  them  they  had  no  business  inside  the  cabin, 
which  belonged  to  himself  and  his  brother;  that  this 
claim  had  been  made  and  held  for  two  years,  and 
that  they  were  liable  to  prosecution  for  assault  on  his 
brother. 

The  elder  man  answered  back  that  he  and  his  son 
had  found  an  old  trapper  living  in  the  cabin  ;  that  they 
had  bought  his  right  to  it,  and  laid  claim  to  the  land, 
and,  what  was  more,  they  should  hold  it  against  all 
comers.  It  was  also  stated  that  a  colony  of  settlers 
from  Illinois  had  come  in  some  three  weeks  before,  hav- 
ing crossed  the  river  at  "  The  Portage,"  and  squatted 
along  on  that  side ;  that  a  general  meeting  had  already 
been  held,  and  the  usual  regulations  adopted,  and  that 
the  speaker  inside  the  cabin  had  been  chosen  constable 
until  a  regular  election  was  held. 

The  young  fellow  was  astounded  and  chagrined  at  this 
intelligence.  The  situation  was  puzzling  enough,  for 
he  saw  that  these  claim-jumpers  had  greatly  the  advan- 
tage over  him.  He  and  Jared  could  i-eally  prove  nothing ; 
not  a  settler  on  the  other  side  whom  they  knew  had 
ever  visited  them  here  or  knew  of  the  location  of  their 
claim  except  by  heresay.  Their  only  callers  had  been 
two  or  three  stray  trappers  and  an  occasional  Winne- 


12  FRONTIER   SKETCHES. 

bago  Indian  who  had  at  various  times  spent  a  night 
with  them. 

It  was  one  of  those  trappers,  a  rascally-looking  fel- 
low whom  he  remembered  he  had  disliked,  who  had 
pretended  to  sell  this  claim  to  the  present  occupants — 
and  there  was  a  whole  neighborhood  to  stand  by  them 
in  possession. 

The  situation  was  discouraging  even  if  Jared  had 
not — according  to  the  code  of  the  region — been  lawfully 
arrested  for  an  assault.  Jake  went  out  near  his  own 
wagon  and  sat  down  on  a  stump  to  think. 

The  night  was  not  dark;  the  moon  was  shining 
faintly  and  a  light  wind  wa.s  moving  the  tree  tops,  and 
as  Jake  sat  with  his  face  between  his  hands  in  a  brown 
study,  the  figure  of  a  person  came  across  his  range  of 
vision.  A  boy  emerged  from  the  woods  a  short  distance 
west  of  the  cabin  and  came  toward  him.  As  he 
approached  the  dog  ran  out  and  began  leaping  upon 
him. 

''Hullo,  mister!  w'at  ye  doin'  out  hyer?"  The 
voice  was  that  of  a  lad  of  fourteen  or  fifteen. 

Jake  answered,  warily,  that  "  he'd  jes'  druv  up  a  bit 
ago,  an'  was  wonderin'  where  thar  might  be  some 
water  fer  the  oxen. "  He  added  that  he  thought  it 
rather  late  to  wake  people  up  to  find  out — there  was 
no  light  that  could  be  seen  from  the  cabin. 

"  Oh,  I'll  show  ye, "  said  the  boy.  ''  It's  'bout  forty 
rod,  though,  the  way  ye'll  hev  ter  drive  t'  git  down  ter 
the  crick." 

"That  don't  make  any  differ'nce — the  distance," 
said  Jake.  "  I  want  to  camp  by  water, " — which  was 
true  enough,  as  matters  had  turned  out. 

Thereupon  he  untied   his  oxen,   turned  his  wagon 


FKONTIEK   SKETCHES.  13 

about  and  drove  after  the  boy,  who  led  him  back  very 
nearly  over  the  way  he  had  come.  Jake,  looking  back 
as  they  entered  the  timber-line,  saw  the  cabin  door 
swing  open,  and  some  one  come  out  and  look  after 
them.  But  fortunately  the  boy  was  straight  ahead 
and  could  not  be  seen,  and  the  man,  who  had  probably 
come  out  to  see  what  was  going  on  upon  hearing  the 
wagon  rattle,  turned  again  and  entered  the  cabin. 

It  was  fifteen  minutes'  drive  down  to  the  creek,  by 
the  nearest  approach  for  a  wagon,  but,  as  Jake  well 
knew,  the  stream  could  be  approached  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  cabin,  which  was  situated  in  a  bend  of  it, 
by  a  very  short  cut  through  thick  brush.  It  was  from 
that  quarter,  in  fact,  that  he  and  Jared  had  brought 
their  water  for  cooking  purposes. 

However,  it  just  suited  a  plan  which  had  flashed 
upon  him  that  the  boy  should  be  at  the  pains  of  select- 
ing for  him  the  best  camping-place — it  got  them  out 
of  sight  and  hearing  of  the  cabin. 

Jake  walked  well  up  by  the  steers  and  talked -to  the 
boy  as  they  went  forward  and  learned,  as  he  had 
expected,  that  the  lad  was  the  son  of  the  man  who  had 
jumped  his  claim.  The  boy  said  he  had  gone  over  to 
a  neighbor's  who  had  just  moved  into  a  new  log-house 
one  mile  west  and  was  to  have  stayed  all  night,  but 
finding  that  a  number  of  land-seekers  had  claimed  the 
neighbor's  hospitality,  he  had  spent  the  evenmg  at 
play  with  their  boys  and  returned.  He  said  his 
father's  name  was  Burrel. 

They  reached  the  creek,  and  Jake,  having  quickly 
matured  a  plan  of  action,  stopped  his  oxen  and  while 
untying  a  long,  slender  lead-rope  from  the  horns  of 


14  FRONTIER   SKETCHES. 

the  "near"  steer  at  the  head  of  the  teanij  kept  the  boy 
near  his  side  by  talking  to  him. 

When  he  had  secured  the  rope,  however,  he  turned, 
flung  an  arm  around  his  listener,  and  with  a  quick  trip 
threw  him  to  the  ground.  The  boy  struggled  and 
screamed  with  fear  and  anger,  but  Jake  quieted  him 
with  a  stern  command  and  then,  holding  him  fast, 
told  him  just  what  had  happened  at  the  cabin, 
and  also  gave  him  a  truthful  account  of  his  own  and 
his  brother's  labor  in  making  the  claim,  which  had  been 
jumped  regardless  of  their  rights. 

"  An'  now,  youngster,  I'm  goin'  ter  tie  ye  up,  an' 
bring  yer  ole  dad  ter  terms,  an'  the  more  ye  cut  up  the 
wuss  it'll  be  for  ye." 

The  boy  evidently  believed  hie  story  and  saw  both 
the  point  and  the  justice  of  the  case,  for  he  sullenly 
submitted,  gritting  out  between  his  teeth  that "  Dad 
'n'  Bob  '11  get  ev'n  with  ye  fur  this." 

Jake  tied  his  prisoner  securely,  unhitched  his  oxen  and 
turned  them  loose,  with  the  yokes  on,  to  graze,  and 
then,  getting  some  quilts  out  of  the  wagon,  made  a  bed 
under  it,  picked  up  the  captive  and  laid  him  upon  it. 
He  then  ate  a  cold  bite  of  bread  and  meat,  and  taking 
his  rifle  went  slowly  back  to  the  cabin. 

When  he  arrived  there  he  again  seated  himself  upon 
a  stump  and  gave  his  mind  to  thought.  He  had  gained 
one  advantage,  at  least,  he  could  exchange  prisoners 
and  get  his  brother  free,  which  had  been  his  object  in 
so  roughly  treating  the  boy,  but  could  he  do  anything 
more? 

He  determined  to  try.  Accordingly  he  got  up  and 
stole  softly  behind  the  covered  wagon  where  he  had 
stood  before — the  dog  seemed  to  have  exhausted  its 


FRONTIER   SKETCHES.  15 

animosity  or  else  it  had  followed  the  wagon  and  gone 
rabbit-hunting. 

Jake  now  shouted  loudly  at  the  cabin 

"  Ho,  Burrel !     Burrel,  I  say  !  " 

There  was  a  movement  inside,  a  light  shone  through 
a  crack  and  an  angry  voice — the  old  man's  again 
— replied  :     "  Wall,  what  ye  yawpin'  'bout  now  ? " 

Jake  briefly  related  the  story  of  the  boy's  capture, 
only  being  interrupted  every  few  seconds  by  ejacula- 
tions of  wrath  and  chagrin  from  his  auditors,  or  at 
least  from  two  of  them.  Jared  was  listening  also,  and 
Jake  heard  him  give  a  shout  and  a  hearty  laugh  of 
triumph  at  the  conclusion. 

For  a  moment  there  was  confusion  inside  the  cabin, 
and  a  gabble  of  excited  discussion,  then  the  door 
opened  cautiously,  and  Jake  heard  somebody — evi- 
dently a  woman — crying  piteously. 

"Oh,  they'll  kill 'im I  they'll  kill  my  babby!"she 
moaned. 

"  Shet  up !  "  said  one  of  the  men,  roughly. 

"  Say,  mister  ! "  he  called,  poking  his  head  out  of  a 
crack  in  the  doorway. 

"  Now,  look  hyer  !  "  called  Jake,  sharply,  "  none  o' 
that !     Keep  inside  ef  ye  want  to  keep  a  whole  skin." 

The  head  was  hastily  withdrawn. 

"  Now,  lookee  hyer ! "  repeated  Jake,  "  I'm  a-goin' 
ter  hold  this  hyer  cabin  in  a  state  o'  seige  till  ye  come 
ter  my  terms.     My  terms  is  these : 

"  Yer  turn  my  brother  loose ;  give  'im  ev'ry  gun 
ye've  got  an'  let  'im  bring  'em  out  hyer  to  me.  Then 
yer  pick  up  yer  duds,  'n'  bring  'em  out  'n'  pack 
'era  in  this  wagon  'n'  take  yerselves  off  'n  this 
claim,  n'  when  ye've  done  that  I'll  turn  yer  boy  loose. 


16  FRONTIER   SKETCHES. 

'n'   when  ye've  gone  'n'  took  a  claim  't  ye've  got  a 

right  ter  squat  on,  'n'  git  settled  onto  it,  yer  c'n  send 
one  o'  yer  neighbors  after  them  guns.  Now  yer  c'n 
jes'  do  that  er  I'll  hoi'  ye  in  thar  till  the  crack  o'doom, 
'n'  yer  boy  't's  tied  up  out  thar  in  the  woods  c'n  stay 
thar  till  the  b'ars  eat  'im  up,  er  the  wolves,  'n'  they's 
plenty  o'  both  round  hyer.  I've  got  plenty  ter  eat  in 
my  pockets  'n'  good  shelter  commandin'  the  winders 
'n'  door." 

At  the  close  of  this  speech  there  was  another  wail 
inside  the  cabin.  The  woman,  rough  as  she  was,  loved 
her  boy  and  was  terribly  frightened,  and  the  men 
seemed  subdued  and  impressed  with  the  gravity  of  the 
situation.  After  a  long  parley  the  men,  moved  by  the 
entreaties  of  the  woman  and  greatly  to  Jake's  surprise, 
did  accept  them  and  sent  Jared  out  with  the  guns. 

The}'^  brought  out  their  household  goods  and  the  men 
sullenly  packed  them  in  the  wagon  while  Jake  and 
Jared  with  the  guns  stood  guard  at  a  safe  distance. 
They  got  up  their  oxen  and  hitched  them  to  the  wagon, 
and  then  the  woman,  who  had  silently  helped  bring  out 
their  bedding,  clothing  and  cooking  utensils,  broke  down 
again,  and  begged  that  the  boy  might  be  "turned 
loose  'n'  fetched." 

This  was  more  than  Jake  could  stand,  and  though  he 
knew  the  lad  was  safe  and  fairly  comfortable,  he  had 
tied  him  so  that  he  felt  certain  he  could  not  get  loose. 
He,  therefore,  left  Jared  with  two  guns  to  guard  the 
claim-jumpers  and  went  and  got  the  boy.  The  whole 
party  then  drove  off  without  a  word. 

It  was  nearly  two  weeks  before  a  neighbor  with 
whom  they  had  become  acquainted,  and  who  sided  with 
them  upon  learning  all  the  facts  in  the  case,  came  over 


FKONTIEK   SKETCHES  17 

and  got  the  guns,  and  brought  the  information  that  the 
Burrels  had  settled  about  twelve  miles  down  the  river. 
He  had  previously  told  them  that  be  and  some  other 
neighbors,  who  had  elected  the  elder  Burrel  a  constable, 
had  not  been  acquainted  with  the  family  long,  having 
only  fallen  in  with  them  while  "  moving." 

After  getting  acquainted  with  all  the  new-comers  of 
their  neighborhood  the  two  boys  found  good  friends 
and  good  neighbors  among  them. 


n. 

THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  F^  BRAND. 

Six  or  eight  years  ago  horse  and  cattle  thieves  were 
exceedingly  troublesome  to  the  stockmen  of  Montana 
and  northern  Wyoming.  During  a  year's  stay  in 
those  regions  I  heard  many  accounts  of  daring  and 
successful  robberies,  of  narrow  escapes  on  the  part  of 
these  raiders,  and  of  various  curious  expedients 
employed  by  them  to  accomplish  their  object,  which 
was,  of  course,  to  drive  off  stock  which  did  not  belong 
to  them. 

One  of  the  most  bold  and  yet  cunning  attempts  at 
cattle- stealing,  perhaps,  ever  made,  occurred  about  that 
time  on  the  South  Cheyenne  range  near  the  Wyoming 
and  Dakota  lines.  I  do  not  know  that  the  story  was 
ever  told  outside  the  region  in  which  it  happened:  but, 
wlietlier  or  no,  it  seems  worth  telling  now. 

It  was  just  at  the  close  of  the  Indian  troubles  about 
the  "  Hills,"  when  cattle  men  had  newly  discovered 
the  many  advantages  of  the  range  of  country  lying 
immediately  south  and  west  of  the  Black  Hills.  It 
would,  in  fact,  have  been  impossible  to  have  carried 
out  so  daring  a  scheme  on  an  older  and  more  closely 
guarded  range. 

One  of  the  first  ranches  to  occupy  a  portion  of  this 
excellent  grass  region  was  built  at  Dead  Cedar  Forks 
on  AVest  Dry  Wood,  and  was  owned  by  the  Cheyenne 
Cattle  Company.  It  started  with  two  thousand  head 
of  stock,  and  its  brand  duly  recorded  in  the  nearest 
stock  journals  was  J  V,  the  initials  of  an  old  ranch  man 

18 


FRONTIER  SKETCHES.  19 

and  chief  stockholder,  Joe  Villemont.  The  letters 
were  simply  formed,  about  eight  inches  in  height  and 
eight  inches  apart,  and  were  stamped  upon  the  broad 
sides,  always  on  the  right  of  the  company's  cattle,  and 
in  smaller  letters  upon  the  left  hips  of  its  horses. 

"Old  Joe,"  as  Villemont's  men  called  him,  had 
always  been  averse  to  the  cruelty  of  the  big,  compli- 
cated brands  which  disfigure  the  cattle  upon  so  many 
ranges,  and  which  must  cause  so  much  suffering  in  the 
stamping,  and  afterward  until  the  wound  heals. 
Accordingly  he  had  always  used  the  simplest  and 
smallest  brand  that  would  identify  his  stock. 

At  about  the  time  the  J  Y  ranch,  as  it  was  called, 
was  established,  several  other  cattle-owners  came  into 
the  region,  bringing  large  droves  of  cattle,  and  built 
ranches  on  Horee  Head  and  Hat  Creeks,  and  at  the 
head  of  White  River,  and  the  Running  Water,  and  the 
"  L  Z's,"  "  Circle  Bars  "  =0=  "  K— 23's,"  "  Goose  Eggs,'' 
"000"  and  others,  took  their  places  with  the  "  J  V's" 
upon  the  range. 

The  circuit  of  a  "  round-up  "  was  soon  determined 
upon,  and  the  cow-boys  of  each  ranch  soon  made 
themselves  familiar  with  the  various  brands  upon  their 
riding  circuit. 

It  was  at  the  third  general  round-up,  in  June  of  the 
second  year,  that  the  boys  working  to  the  northwest 
discovered  a  new  brand  upon  that  part  of  the  range, 
and  searching  their  record-book  of  JSTebraska,  Wyom- 
ing and  Dakota  brands  could  find  no  marking  to  cor- 
respond. The  new  brand  was  "  bar  Y  N  "  thus,  Y  N 
stamped  upon  the  right  broad  side,  and  supplemented 
by  a  new  moon    upon  the  right  hip. 

It  was  a  camp  on  Lightning  creek,  a  number  of  the 


20  FBONTIEK   SKETCHES. 

"Circle  Bars"  and  "J  V"  men,  who  first  found  stock 
carrying  the  "bar  Y  N"  brand,  as  they  named  it. 
The}^  found  several  steers  and  eighteen  or  twenty  cows 
bearing  it,  in  the  first  bunch  thej'^  rounded  up  and  cor- 
ralled at  the  Lightning  Creek  branding  pens.  The 
markings  seemed  rather  fresh,  and  the  calves  which 
were  running  with  the  cows  were  not  yet  branded. 

There  was  no  little  speculation  in  the  camp  that  even- 
ing, after  the  stock-book  had  been  inspected  by  the 
foreman,  as  to  where  these  cattle  belonged.  It  was 
supposed  that  they  must  be  strays  from  some  recently 
established  ranch  farther  north — one  probably  that  had 
just  run  in  a  lot  of  fresh-branded  stock  and  had  not  yet 
advertised  its  brand. 

As  the  camp  moved  north  and  made  a  new  branding 
pen  on  Old  Woman  Creek  the  bar  Y  N  stock  became 
more  numerous  until  it  was  calculated  there  must  be 
a  hundred  and  fifty  or  more  of  them  ;  and  the  out-rid- 
ing cowboys  began  to  keep  their  eyes  open  for  signs  of 
a  ranch. 

The  mystery  seemed  to  be  solved  one  evening  by  the 
appearance  in  camp  just  at  supper  time  of  a  horseman 
who  reined  up  with  a  hearty  "  How  do  ?  "  and  alighted. 
He  was  a  slim,  dark-looking  fellow,  dressed  in  a  well- 
worn  suit  of  corduroy,  and  wearing  the  regulation 
slouch  hat  and  high  top  boots. 

"  "Well, "  said  he,  as  the  foreman  of  the  camp  came 
forward,  "  "Well,  I  suppose  you've  discovered  a  new 
brand  on  your  range  down  hero, — the  '  bar  YN,'  eh  ?  " 

The  foreman  said  they  had,  and  then  asked  if  he 
represented  that  stock,  to  which  the  stranger  replied 
that  he  was  superintendent  of  the  ranch  to  which  it 
belonged,  a  ranch  which  had  been  newly  established 


tRON'TIER   SKETCHES.  21 

on  the  Little  Missouri  range,  that  they  had  shipped 
out  a  lot  of  Minnesota  cattle  in  March,  and  driven 
them  down  from  the  Northern  Pacific,  having  hay 
enough  on  hand  to  keep  them  from  running  down 
until  grass  should  start  up  fresh  in  April. 

They  had  expected  to  hold  them  without  trouble, 
but  there  came  a  three  days'  blizzard,  which  the  J  Y 
and  Circle  Bar  men  had  experienced  also,  from  the 
north,  caught  a  lot  of  them  out,  and  ran  them  off  to 
the  south.  There  were  about  seven  hundred  of  these 
new  cattle  gone  from  their  ranch,  he  said,  and  they  had 
found  them  scattered  all  the  way  from  Belle  Fourche 
to  Hat  Creek. 

He  then  drew  a  Montana  stock  journal  from  his 
breast  pocket  and  pointed  out  his  brand  advertised  as 
the  property  of  the  "  Minnesota  &  Montana  Cattle 
Company,"  and  went  on  to  say  that  he  had  brought 
down  three  of  his  men  to  begin  at  the  southernmost 
point  at  which  their  stock  was  to  be  found,  and  work 
back  toward  home,  gathering  the  cattle  as  they  went. 

"  We'll  take  what  calves  you  leave  us,"  he  said, 
laughingly,  "  for  you  will  be  through  with  your  brand- 
ing before  we  fairly  get  to  work  !  " 

He  remarked  that  his  camp,  temporary,  of  course, 
was  on  a  creek  about  twenty  miles  east,  and  that  he 
had  merely  stumbled  upon  the  round-up  by  chance 
while  looking  for  his  own  brand. 

His  story,  perfectly  plausible  and  established  by  an 
advertisement  in  an  accredited  stock  journal,  made  him 
heartily  welcome  at  the  cow-camp,  where  he  was 
immediately  invited  to  take  supper,  and,  as  it  rained 
that  evening,  he  shared  the  foreman's  bed,  under  the 
cover  of  a  big  supply  wagon. 


S2  FRONTIER   SKETCHES. 

It  was  about  a  week  after  this  that  the  round-up 
broke  camp,  and  in  the  meantime  two  other  cow-men 
were  met  in  search  of  bar  Y  N  stock.  Rather 
rough-looking  fellows  they  were — hardly  up  to  the 
standard  of  "number  one  punchers"  the  men  thought 
them.  Two  of  the  J  Y  boys,  "  Griff  "  Moshcr  and  Tom 
Dodd,  with  an  extra  pony  and  a  week's  supplies,  were 
left  to  look  up  several  ponies  which  had  strayed  from 
the  camp  at  Indian  Creek,  v/liile  the  others  moved  to 
another  part  of  the  range. 

Griff  and  Tom  "  rustled  "  around  lively  for  a  few 
days,  picked  up  all  of  the  ponies  but  two,  five  had 
stra3'ed,  and  giving  those  up  for  lost  had  started  from 
Lightning  Creek  to  go  to  the  J  V  ranch  on  Dry 
Wood.  They  were  riding  down  into  the  deep  valley 
of  a  small  run  in  search  of  water  and  a  camp  for  the 
first  evening,  when  they  came  upon  a  large  bunch  of 
cattle  grazing  upon  the  bottom  and  side  hill. 

Upon  approaching  they  discovered  the  brand  bar  Y 
N  upon  the  nearest  ones,  and  struck  by  the  size  of  the 
drove,  rode  through  them  to  discover,  if  possible, 
whether  they  all  had  that  mark.  It  seemed  so ;  at 
least,  they  could  see  no  other  markings  except  the  new 
moon  looking  remarkably  fresh  upon  the  right  hip  of 
each  creature  inspected. 

"Hum,"  said  Griff,  as  they  rode  forward,  "them 
fellows  hev  rounded  up  a  big  lot  of  strays  right  here, 
haint  they  now?  Say,  Tom,  don't  it  'pear  sort  o' 
strange  that  they  haint  a  spotted  critter  in  the  whole 
bunch?" 

Tom  cast  his  eyes  over  the  lot  with  some  astonish- 
ment. 

"  That's  so,"  he  admitted ;  "  not  a  one." 


FRONTIER   SKETCHES.  23 

"And  say,"  said  Griff,  pulling  up  with  sudden  energy, 
"  if  that  big  yellow  steer  there  with  the  wide  horns 
haint  the  one  we  hed  such  a  tussle  with  a-rebrandin' 
him  over  at  Old  Woman  last  fall,  I'll  eat  my  hat." 

Tom  emphatically  coincided  with  him. 

"  Yes,  an'  what's  more,"  fairly  shouted  Griff,  "  I  can 
see  a  dozen  cows  I'd  swear  to  as  J  Vs  this  minute ! 
Here,  cut  loose  the  horses  an'  let's  down  that  red  heifer 
thar  with  a  fresh  brand  on  'er,  an'  hev  a  look  at  it !" 

It  was  the  work  of  three  or  four  minutes  for  these 
practiced  "  ropers  "  to  catch  the  heifer,  throw  her,  and 
examine  her  brand.  It  also  took  but  a  hasty  scrutiny 
to  discover  that  an  old  marking  of  J  Y  had  been 
changed  to  Y  IST  by  adding  fresh  "lean  tos"tothe 
original  letters,  with  a  bar  and  the  new  moon  to  make 
the  deception  more  complete. 

Griff  and  Tom  wasted  no  time,  but  set  their  wits  at 
work,  to  plan  a  capture  of  the  daring  rascals,  or,  at 
least,  to  take  steps  at  once  to  prevent  them  from  run- 
ning off  the  stock,  as — from  the  gathering  of  so  large  a 
bunch — it  was  evident  they  intended  doing  soon. 

Luckily,  as  they  believed,  the  fellows  had  not 
discovered  their  presence  in  the  valley,  and  were 
probably  camped  at  no  great  distance  above  or  below. 
As  there  were  known  to  be  four  of  them  at  least,  the 
boys  felt  that  it  would  be  too  risky  to  attempt  to  cope 
with  them  alone,  and  they  determined  to  ride  to  the 
ranch  at  Dead  Cedar  Forks,  and  rally  a  crowd  if  any 
men  could  be  found  there. 

They  mounted,  passed  through  a  narrow  draw  to 
the  creek  and  up  another  to  the  high  ground  beyond, 
and  then  rode  hard  all  night,  changing  ponies  fre- 
quently, and  only  stopping  twice  for  water,    and  a 


S-i  FRONTIER  SKETCHES. 

lialf-hour's  rest  at  noon  or  a  little  before  they  reached 
the  J  V  ranch. 

There  was  no  one  there  except  Lame  Johnnie,  the 
cook,  and  he  had  not  seen  a  man,  he  said,  for  five 
(lays;  didn't  know  where  any  of  the  boys  were  or 
when  they'd  be  in. 

Johnnie  himself  could  not  ride  on  account  of  his 
wretched  legs;  and  while  tiiey  were  off  hunting  up  a 
crowd  the  thieves  might  drive  the  cattle  through  to 
Montana  and  sell  them. 

iN'ot  an  hour  was  wasted;  the  two  bold  fellows 
determined  to  make  an  attempt  to  recapture  the  stock 
unassisted.  Arming  themselves  with  Winchesters 
from  the  ranch  in  addition  to  their  six-shooters,  and 
selecting  four  of  the  best  ponies  from  the  corral,  they 
rode  swiftly  back  over  the  route  they  had  traveled  in 
the  morning. 

They  gave  themselves  three  hours'  sleep  that  night, 
and  the  next  morning  halted  at  the  creek  where  they 
had  found  the  bunch  of  stock  with  the  stolen  brand 
upon  them. 

As  they  had  feared,  the  cattle  were  gone ;  there  was 
not  a  creature  except  a  few  head  of  L  Z  and  Circle 
Bar  stock  to  be  seen  in  the  region.  But  after  two 
hours'  search  to  the  northward  of  where  they  had 
struck  the  stream,  they  came  upon  a  well-defined  and 
fresh  trail  of  a  lot  of  cattle  going  north,  and  knew 
they  were  upon  the  right  track.  The  cattle  had  been 
started  the  day  before,  as  near  as  the  boys  could  judge, 
or  the  day  after  they  had  seen  them. 

They  followed  the  trail  at  a  racking  gait  until  it 
became  too  dark  to  trace  it  without  diflBculty,  then 
picketed  their  tired  ponies,  ate  a  cold  lunch,  and  gave 


FKONTIER    SKETCHES.  S5 

themselves  up  to  a  night  of  refreshing  and  much 
needed  sleep. 

All  the  next  day  they  rode  hard  upon  the  trail,  but 
did  not  come  up  with  the  thieves,  who,  they  concluded, 
were  pushing  the  stock  at  a  terrible  rate,  probably 
fearing  that  they  were  pursued,  as,  indeed,  for  aught 
Griflf  and  Tom  knew,  they  themselves  might  have  been 
within  plain  sight  of  some  or  all  of  the  thieves,  while 
making  the  discovery  of  the  fradulent  brand. 

It  was  easy  to  keep  hidden  among  these  breaks  and 
gulches. 

It  was  not  until  late  in  the  afternoon  of  the  third 
day's  chase  that  they  sighted  the  drove  just  descending 
into  a  narrow  and  canon-like  valley  of  a  tributary  of 
the  Belle  Fourche. 

Believing  the  thieves  would  stick  to  this  narrow  val- 
ley in  order  to  keep  well  hidden,  the  boys  circled,  rode 
rapidly  around  them,  and  descended  into  the  valley  in 
their  front,  as  they  could  tell  by  the  cloud  of  dust  that 
rose  continually  above  the  herd.  They  reached  the 
level  of  the  stream  at  the  mouth  of  a  gulch  about  sun- 
down. 

Knowing  that  the  cattle  thieves  would  be  on  the 
alert,  the  two  cowboys  had  formed  no  plan  save  that  of 
immediate  attack  upon  them  from  the  nearest  point  of 
vantage  and  the  most  unexpected  to  the  attacked  that 
could  be  gained. 

The  spot  they  had  happened  upon  was  well  adapted 
to  an  ambush.  They  picketed  their  ponies  some  rods 
from  the  mouth  of  the  gulch  and  out  of  sight,  and  then 
the  determined  fellows,  with  their  Winchesters  and 
revolvers,  and  abundance  of  ammunition,  placed  them- 


26  FRONTIER   SKETCHES. 

selves  behind  a  small  bank  and  awaited  the  approach 
of  the  robbers  as  they  urged  the  stock  along  the  canon. 

TliG  cloud  of  dust  rolled  down,  and  the  leaders  of 
the  herd  came  in  sight  climbing  out  of  a  gulch  a  few 
rods  distant.  Yells  and  the  cracking  of  stock  whips 
could  now  bo  heard  above  the  trampling  and  lowing  of 
the  cattle. 

It  was  growing  dusk,  and  the  thick  dust  which  rose 
from  the  dry,  grassless  soil  of  the  canon  made  it 
impossible  to  see  more  than  a  few  rods  with  certainty. 
But  soon  at  the  tail  of  the  herd  two  horsemen  appeared, 
then  another,  then  a  fourth.  They  were  riding  not  far 
apart,  the  nearest  about  fifty  yards  away,  and  rather 
dimly  outlined  in  the  dust  and  growing  darkness. 

Griff  and  Tom  laid  down  their  Winchesters,  and 
with  self-cocking  revolvers  opened  fire  upon  the 
miscreants. 

The  first  shots  had  no  other  effect  than  to  cause  the 
thieves  to  leap  from  their  saddles  and  get  behind  their 
ponies.  That  they  did  not  immediately  ride  out  of 
range  was  no  doubt  owing  to  the  fear  that  they  had 
been  surrounded,  and  that  these  shots  were  merelv 
to  drive  them  upon  the  muzzles  of  other  guns  upon  the 
other  side  or  in  the  rear. 

They  were  not  altogether  cowards,  either,  for  they 
returned  fire  at  once,  and  for  a  few  moments  the  canon 
witnessed  one  of  those  fierce  shooting  affrays  which 
sometimes  occur  between  the  outraged  citizen  and  the 
desperado  of  the  plains  and  mountains. 

"  Crack !  crack !  crack !  "  the  thieves  fired  across  their 
horses'  backs  at  the  heads  and  shoulders  which  Griff 
and  Tom  offered  as  marks,  while  the  incensed  and 
excited   cowboys  emptied   their  revolvers,   and  then 


"FRONTIER    SKETCHES.  27 

caught  lip  their  Winchesters  and  "  pumped "  forty- 
five's  in  rapid  succession. 

These  last  weapons  settled  the  affair  speedily,  their 
length  and  steadiness  gave  a  better  and  truer  aim  than 
could  be  got  with  revolvers. 

First  a  pony  went  down,  then  one  of  the  thieves  got  a 
bullet  in  his  leg  and  led  his  horse  away  while  he  limped 
at  his  side.  The  man  whose  horse  was  shot  took  to 
his  heels  and  ran  away.  One  of  the  others  exposed 
himself  while  mounting,  and  rode  away  hanging  across 
his  horse's  wethers.  The  other  sprang  upon  his  pony, 
and  galloped  off  up  the  caiion. 

In  three  minutes  from  the  time  the  firing  began  the 
thieves  were  whipped,  "  cleaned  out "  in  Western  par- 
lance, and  gone,  and  the  two  plucky  cowboys  had  come 
off  without  a  scratch. 

They  dared  not  attempt  to  follow  up  their  advan- 
tage, however,  but  rode  immediately  after  the  stock, 
which  they  succeeded  in  getting  out  of  the  canon,  and 
twenty  miles  on  the  route  toward  home  before  morn- 
ing. 

After  that  they  took  it  leisurel}^,  only  keeping  a 
sharp  lookout,  aud  taking  turns  in  guarding  the  stock 
closely  at  night.  They  saw  no  more  of  the  thieves 
who  had,  no  doubt,  had  enough  of  cattle  stealing  for 
once. 

The  Cheyenne  Cattle  Company  rewarded  this  bold 
exploit  as  it  deserved,  by  raising  the  wages  of  Griff 
and  Tom  each  from  forty -five  to  sixty  dollars  per 
month. 


III. 

CORSON'S  WIFE. 

It  would  be  hard  to  find  in  tlie  Rocky  Mountains  a 
rouglier  stage  road  than  tliat  which  runs  between  the 
mining  hamlets  of  Thunder  Gulch  and  Squaw  Forks. 
Indeed,  if  a  worse  road  could  be  found,  there  are  few 
persons  who  would  care  for  a  seat  in  the  coach  of  the 
most  careful  driver. 

This  road  is  twelve  or  thirteen  miles  lon^.  A  few 
years  ago  a  lady  who  ventured  to  ride  over  it  called  it 
"The  Twelve-Mile  Horror,"  and  by  this  name  the  road 
is  known  to  miners  and  travelers  of  the  region.  That 
the  name  is  deserved  the  writer  can  testify,  for  he 
knows  it  to  be  truly  a  rambling  thread  over  dizzy 
precipices  and  among  black,  gaping  canons. 

There  are  ]ilaces  along  the  verge  of  cliffs  and  around 
the  jutting  points  of  yawning  gulches  where  the  coach 
seems  literalh'  suspended  in  mid-air,  and  the  rider, 
glancing  out  over  the  wheels  into  the  sheer,  gaping 
space  below,  hastily  pulls  down  the  "  flaps,"  closes  his 
eyes,  and  leans  dizzily  back  in  his  seat,  not  daring  to 
look  a  second  time. 

For  five  years  Gideon  Fletcher,  or  ''  Gid,"  as  he  is 
commonly  called,  has  driven  the  stage  once  each  day, 
Sundays  excepted,  from  Squavr  Forks  to  Thunder  Gulch 
and  back.  Of  course,  he  has  occasionally  missed  a 
trip,  when  slides  or  heavy  falls  of  snow  along  the  line 
have  prevented  him  from  running.  Yet  during  all  his 
fifteen  hundred  "  round  trips  "  he  has  never  met  with 

28 


FRONTIER   SKETCHES.  29 

an  accident  serious  enougli  to  cause  the  loss  of  life  or 
limb  to  his  passengers. 

So  trusty  and  sure-handed  a  driver  is  he  that  the 
*' contractors  of  the  line"  will  have  no  other,  and  they 
pay  him  double  wages  to  keep  him  upon  this  particular 
stretch  of  their  route.  Only  once  has  a  coach  been 
demolished  or  a  horse  killed  under  his  management ; 
but  on  that  occasion  he  met  with  a  double  accident, 
under  circumstances  so  stirring  and  heroic  as  to  be  well 
worthy  of  narration. 

It  was  some  two  years  after  Gideon  had  begun  driv- 
ing the  coach  upon  this  road  that  one  day,  as  he  came 
out  from  eating  his  dinner  at  "^  The  Rough-and-Tumble 
House"  of  Thunder  Gulch,  a  pale-faced  young  woman 
appeared  at  the  rude  gate,  and  beckoned  to  him. 

"Are  you  the  stage-driver  that  drives  the  stage  to 
Squaw  Forks  this  afternoon  ? "  she  asked,  as  he  came  up. 

"  I  reckon  I'm  the  chap  yer  lookin'  fer,  mum,"  said 
Gideon.     "  Want  ter  go  flown  ?     Start  in  half  a  hour." 

The  woman  glanced  about  nervously,  as  though  fear- 
ful of  being  overheard,  and  then  she  said,  hurriedly 
and  in  a  low  voice : 

"  I'm  from  Corson's  Camp.  I'm  Corson's  wife ;  but 
he — they  all — abuse  me  dreadfully,  and  the  baby  too. 
Look  here,"  and  she  threw  an  old  bonnet  she  wore 
back  from  her  forehead,  and  showed  a  great  fresh  scar 
across  one  temple. 

"I  got  that  last  night.  They  do  it  when  they're 
drunk,  and  they're  drunk  most  of  the  time.  Night 
before  last  one  of  'em  threatened  to  throw  my  baby 
into  a  hot  spring.  He  said  he'd  '  kill  the  little  imp,  he 
would,'  and  oh,  I  can't,  I  don't  dare  to  stay  there  any 
longer!     I'm  the  only  woman  up  at  the   camp,  and 


FKONTIER   SKETCHES.  31 

to-day  the  men  are  all  up  at  Big  Horn  Spring  pros- 
poctin'  for  a  new  place,  and  so  I've  come  to  you  to  see 
if  you  won't  take  me  away  from  this  dreadful  place. 

"  I've  no  money  with  me,  an'  no  friends  nearer  than 
Denver.  My  folks  live  there,  and  I  would  have  wrote 
to  'em  to  come  and  take  me  away  if  I  dared ;  but  I 
knew  if  Corson  got  wind  of  it  before  they  got  here  he'd 
kill  me  and  the  baby,  too ;  for  though  he's  my  husband 
he's  the  most  horrid  and' wicked  man  lever  saw,  except 
the  gang  he  keeps  around  him.  Oh,  will  you  let  me 
go  with  you  ? " 

"  Wal,  now,  I  sh'd  smile !  "  answered  Fletcher,  in  his 
hearty  way.  "  You  jest  go  'n'  git  yer  baby  'n'  yor 
fixin's,  'n'  we'll  git  out  o'  these  diggin's  in  a  jiffy." 

"  Oh,  I  daresn't  come  here  to  start,"  she  replied  ; 
"  but  in  an  hour  I'll  be  down  at  the  mouth  of  the  'Gap ' 
below.  If  I  should  come  here,  Corson  would  find  out 
soon  as  he  comes  back  that  I'd  started  off  with  you, 
and  they'd  like  enough  catch  us  before  we'd  got  down 
to  the  Forks. 

"■  Some  of  'em  may  be  back  any  minute ;  like  enough 
they're  there  now;  but  I'm  going  to  sneak  away  with 
baby  somehow,  if  they  are.  There  don't  seem  to  be 
anybody  hangin'  round  here  now.  All  off  but  the 
women  folks,  I  s'pose,  and  it  looks  like  I'd  have  a  good 
chance  to  get  off  without  anybody's  knowin'  how  or 
where  I  went,"  and  with  this  she  turned  and  sped 
away. 

"  I'll  wait  for  ye,  sure,"  Gideon  assured  her  as  she 
started. 

He  hung  about  the  stable  of  the  Rough-and-Tumble 
longer  than  usual  that  noon,  pretending  to  one  of  the 
women  that  came  out  presently  that  he  had  to  "  fix  " 


32  FEONTIER  SKETCHES. 

something  about  his  harness  before  he  started  on  the 
return  trip, 

"Everybody's  gone  off  crazy  'bout  the  new 2)lacer  up 
at  Big  Horn,"  they  had  told  him  at  the  table,  "  'n  lef 
nobody  but  thcr  women  folks  't  the  Gulcli." 

In  about  an  hour  from  the  time  he  had  finished 
dinner,  Gideon  and  his  coach  were  in  waiting  at  the 
mouth  of  Melcher's  Gap.  It  was  about  half  an  hour 
later  when  the  woman,  with  her  child  in  arms,  came 
hurrying  breathlessly  down  to  him.  She  looked  behind 
her  frequently,  and  he  saw  as  she  approached  that  her 
face  was  white  with  fear  and  suspense. 

The  baby,  a  wretched  little  year-old  object,  dressed, 
like  its  mother,  in  mere  rags,  turned  its  poor  and  piti- 
ful little  face  upon  the  driver  with  a  wan  smile  that,  as 
he  said,  "  fetched"  him  "clear  to  the  boots." 

"  Oh,  you  7nust  drive  fast,"  cried  the  poor  woman,  as 
she  clambered  into  the  coach  without  waiting  for  the 
proffered  help,  "  for  they've  come  back,  as  I  was  afraid  ! 
Corson  and  two  of  the  men,  and  they're  going  to  break 
camp  and  move  up  to  Big  Horn  this  afternoon.  They 
daresn't  trust  me  there  alone,  for  I  am  some  good  to 
'em  in  cookin'  and  keepin'  camp.  I  knew  tHis  was  the 
last  chance  to  git  free,  so  I  took  the  baby  and  started 
down  to  the  spring  for  a  pail  of  water,  and  when  I  got 
out  of  sight  I  just  run  for  here,  and  you  must  go,  go 
for  they'll  sure  be  after  us  !  " 

"  I'll  go  fast  enough,"  answered  Gideon  cheerily, 
"  an'  don't  you  be  afraid  they'll  ketch  us  neither  on 
them  leetle  mountain  ponies." 

But  though  he  spoke  with  such  assurance  and  deter- 
mination, he  did  not  feel  at  all  sure  of  the  outcome  of  a 
race  if  the  men  at  Corson's  camp  should  soon  discover 


FKONTIEK   SKETCHES.  33 

the  woman's  flight  and  follow.  He  felt  that  he  had 
taken  an  extremely  hazardous  exploit,  considering  the 
dangerous  route  he  had  to  drive  over  and  the  characters 
of  the  men,  who,  he  had  not  a  doubt,  would  be  upon  his 
trail  within  the  next  half  hour. 

The  spring  at  Corson's  Camp  he  knew  was  in  a 
ravine  at  the  head  of  Melcher's  Gap,  and  as  this  canon 
was  the  only  outlet  in  that  direction,  Corson  could  not 
long  remain  ignorant  of  his  wife's  line  of  flight  after  he 
had  discovered,  as  he  soon  must,  that  she  was  truly 
gone. 

But  the  woman  and  her  baby,  in  such  evident  and 
distressing  need  of  rescue,  had  "fetched  him,"  and  the 
brave  driver,  looking  to  his  revolvers  to  see  that  the 
chambers  were  all  loaded,  drew  in  the  lines  and 
urged  forward  his  horses  at  as  great  a  rate  of  speed  as 
the  nature  of  the  road  would  warrant. 

For  a  half  hour  or  more  the  coach  rattled  forward  at 
a  dangerous  ])ace,  for  these  first  few  miles  were  the 
roughest  part  of  the  road.  Up  and  down  it  went 
through  deep  gorges,  scaling  precipitous  "  hog  backs," 
and  swaying  far  above  the  verge  of  cavernous  canons. 
From  the  point  of  every  turn  that  commanded  a  view 
of  the  trail  behind,  Gid  cast  anxious  glances  backward, 
to  note  if  anyone  were  yet  in.  pursuit. 

At  the  "  half-mile  stone,"  which  was  supposed  to 
mark  a  spot  midway  between  Thunder  Gulch  and 
Squaw  Forks,  was  a  height  from  which  a  good  portion 
of  the  road  for  two  miles  back  could  be  seen,  and  here 
it  was  that  the  driver  discovered,  indeed,  that  Corson 
and  his  men  were  following  them.  A  single  glance 
sufficed  to  reveal  them — three  horsemen — riding-  at  a 


34  FRONTIER    SKETCHES. 

breakneck  gallop  over  the  crest  of  a  long  hog-back 
some  mile  and  a  half  in  the  rear  of  the  coach. 

'' A  llight  for  life,"  thought  Gideon,  and  he  cracked 
his  long  whip  above  the  ears  of  the  already  fretted 
stage-team.  The  horses  were  not  imwilling  to  go 
faster,  however,  on  the  contrary  they  seemed  nervous 
and  frightened  at  such  unusual  driving,  and  sprang 
forward  at  a  pace  which  the  driver  soon  found  it 
necessary  to  check  by  vigorous  pulling  at  their  reins. 

"  Are  they  coming  ?  Did  you  see  them  ?  "  screamed 
the  woman,  frightened  at  the  swaying  and  rocking  of 
the  stage  as  they  rounded  a  curve. 

"  Oh,  we're  all  right !  "  the  driver  shouted  back, 
evading  a  direct  answer.  "The  road  ain't  bad,  hyar! 
An'  I'm  a-tryin'  ter  make  up  fer  whar  His.  " 

The  coach  tore  along,  pitching  crazily  down  into 
deep  gullies,  and  swaying  wildly  above  the  crests  of 
abrupt  cliffs  or  the  sides  of  gulf-like  ravines. 

It  was  quite  a  number  of  minutes  before  Gideon 
caught  sight  of  the  pursuing  horsemen  again,  but 
when  he  did,  as  they  came  around  the  point  of  a 
mountam  spur,  they  had  gained  perceptibly  upon  the 
coach,  and  the  question  of  being  overtaken  had 
narrowed  to  one  merely  of  time.  And  now  the  driver 
began  to  canvass  the  chances  of  making  a  successful 
defense  when  he  should  be  finally  overtaken. 

There  w^as  a  point  nearly  two  miles  ahead,  where, 
if  he  could  only  reach  it,  the  road  ran  along  the  foot 
of  a  narrow  ledge  and  above  a  precipitous  gulch,  and, 
where  he  thought  he  might  halt  the  coach  behind  a 
sheltering  point  of  rocks,  and  "  stand  off  "  their  pur- 
suers with  his  revolvers.     He  was  now  determined  at 


FRONTIER   SKETCHES.  36 

every  hazard  to  keep  the  woman  and  her  child  out  of 
the  clutches  of  her  pursuers. 

With  this  goal  and  end  in  view,  then,  he  drove  with 
a  recklessness,  which  in  any  less  urgent  case  would 
have  been  mad,  indeed.  More  than  once  the  poor 
woman  screamed  with  fright,  as  the  hack  lunged  for- 
ward or  careened  over,  and  ran  several  yards  on  two 
wheels. 

But  Fletcher  kept  a  steady  and  strong  rein  on  his 
animals,  and  threw  his  weight  to  one  side  or  the  other 
as  the  coach  rocked  and  threatened  to  overturn. 

Several  minutes  passed  in  this  mad  flight,  when, 
glancing  back  at  a  smooth  turn,  the  driver  caught 
another  view  of  Corson  and  his  men ;  they  were  now 
pressing  hard  upon  him.  There  was  but  a  few  min- 
utes more  to  spare  in  racing,  but  Gideon  had  reached 
a  point  where,  if  no  accident  should  occur,  he  felt  cer- 
tain of  gaining  the  narrow  pass. 

His  horses  were  sweating  profusely  from  fright  and 
exertion,  but  still  seemed  full  of  energy. 

On,  on,  they  flew.  It  was  wonderful  that  the  coach 
kept  right  side  up,  while  the  poor  frightened  woman 
inside  clung  frantically  to  her  seat  with  one  arm,  and 
to  her  babe  with  the  other. 

Another  half-mile  was  passed  safely,  and  Gideon 
felt  a  thrill  of  triumph  as  he  struck  the  mountain  spur, 
upon  the  other  side  of  which  he  felt  sure  of  making  a 
successful  stand  against  their  pursuers.  Both  at  the 
Gulch  and  the  Forks,  he  was  known  as  a  "crack  shot" 
with  his  revolvers,  and  those  three  fellows,  he  thought, 
with  no  little  judgment,  wouldn't  care  "  to  run  up  agin 
'em,"  when  once  he  had  gained  the  shelter  of  the  jut- 
ting rocks  on  the  other  side. 


36  FRONTIER   SKETCHES. 

But  just  as  he  reached  the  point  of  the  spur,  and 
when  too  late,  he  remembered  a  dangerous  curve  in 
front,  where,  going  at  their  present  rate  of  speed,  the 
hack  must  inevitably  be  thrown  off  the  ledge  by  its 
own  momentum.  It  was  a  short  turn  upon  a  steep 
bench  with  a  ledge  above  and  a  chasm  below. 

He  threw  all  his  weight  in  a  backward  pull  upon  the 
lines,  but  the  team,  now  thoroughly  frightened  and 
wildly  excited  by  their  furious  run,  refused  to  obey  the 
reins,  and  plunged  recklessly  ahead. 

They  were  now  within  a  few  rods  of  the  fatal  turn, 
and  Gideon,  foreseeing  instant  catastrophe,  dropped 
the  lines,  sprang  over  the  back  of  his  seat,  and  catch- 
ing both  woman  and  child  in  his  arms,  jumped  out  with 
them  upon  the  upper  side  of  the  road. 

They  were  scarcely  out  of  the  hack  when  the  vehicle 
"  sloughed  "  ofif  the  road,  overturned,  and,  as  it  did  so, 
wrenched  the  team  off  the  narrow  "  dug- way." 

The  poor  animals  scrambled  resistingly  for  an  instant, 
then  one  lost  its  footing  and  fell ;  the  other  plunged 
over  it,  and  coach  and  all  went  crashing  into  the  bottom 
of  the  gulch  below.  Gideon  had  time  to  note  this,  as 
he  says,  even  while  trembling  with  his  precious  freight 
from  the  bank  of  the  spur,  against  Vv^hich  he  had  leaped, 
into  the  road-bed. 

Luckily  the  bank  at  that  point  was  of  earth  instead 
of  rocks — the  ledge  was  but  a  few  steps  further  on — and 
the  three,  though  shocked  and  jarred,  were  unharmed 
by  their  violent  exit  from  the  hack. 

Gideon,  however,  did  not  stop  an  instant  to  note 
whether  the  woman  or  her  child  were  injured,  but 
gathering  the  baby  on  one  arm  and  grasping  its  moth- 


FRONTIER   SKETCHES.  37 

er's  arm  with  his  free  hand,  ran  forward,  carrying  the 
one  and  fairly  dragging  the  other. 

Just  a  few  steps  beyond  the  ledge  were  several  big 
boulders  on  the  lower  side  of  the  road.  To  gain  the 
shelter  of  those  before  Corson  and  his  men  came  in 
sight  was  now  Gid's  object. 

Before  the  boulders  were  reached,  he  could  hear  the 
clatter  of  hoofs  around  the  curve.  The  men  were  in 
close  pursuit  and  riding  hard,  but  by  dint  of  great 
exertion  Gideon  reached  the  rocks  with  his  charges  a 
minute  or  two  before  the  pursuers  rounded  the  point. 

"Set  close  behind  hyar, "  he  commanded  the  woman, 
"and  hyar,  take  your  babby  'n'  keep  es  quiet  'n'  es 
cool  es  3'e  ken." 

Then  he  drew  a  revolver  from  one  of  the  holsters  at 
his  hips,  and  dropping  upon  his  knees  at  a  spot  where 
he  could  peer  through  between  two  of  the  boulders, 
cocked  the  weapon,  and  leveled  it  upon  the  road  pre- 
paratory to  halting  the  fellows  with  a  shot  as  soon  as 
they  came  in  sight. 

He  had  not  a  second  to  wait  before  the  leader 
appeared  at  a  point  just  beyond  where  the  stage  and 
team  had  gone  off  the  bench  and  over  the  cliff. 

It  was  Corson  himself,  but  he  had  "  slowed  up, "  and 
before  Gideon  could  make  up  his  mind  to  fire,  he  sud- 
denly drew  rein,  and  gave  utterance  as  he  did  so  to  a 
loud  and  excited  oath. 

He  had  discovered  what  had  happened  to  the  stage 
by  means — as  was  afterwards  proved — of  a  sheep-skin 
seat  cushion,  which  had  been  flung  out  of  the  hack  as 
it  overturned,  and  had  lodged  on  top  of  the  ledge. 

The  other  two  men  came  up  almost  instantly  and 
halted,   and  then  the  three  dismounted  and    talked 


38  FKONTIER   SKETCHES. 

excitedly  together — though  Gideon  could  not  distin- 
guish what  they  said — and  one  of  them  went  forward 
and  peered  long  and  intently  over  the  ledge. 

But  either  he  dared  not  go  near  enough  to  the  verge 
of  the  precipice  to  see  plainly  to  the  base,  or  he  could 
not  clearly  make  out  the  wreck  on  account  of  the 
chaparral  thicket  below,  for,  after  gazing  a  minute,  he 
shook  his  head  decidedly,  as  though  convinced  that 
passengers  and  all  had  gone  over,  and  then  all  three 
quickly  remounted,  wheeled  their  ponies  about  upon 
the  "  dug-way,"  and  disappeared  as  rapidly  as  they  had 
come. 

"  Uny  hugh ! "  grunted  Gideon,  with  great  satisfaction, 
'•ye  think  ye've  ran  us  over  thar  'n'  smashed  the  hull 
outfit,  don't  ye,  'n'  ye've  skipped  mighty  sudden  for 
fear  't'  sumun  'd  come  along  'n'  diskiver  yer  deviltry, 
haint  ye  ? " 

Then  he  told  Mrs.  Corson  to  get  up,  and  taking  the 
child  from  her  arms — the  scared  little  thing  had  slept 
as  quiet  as  a  young  partridge  in  hiding — helped  her  to 
rise  and  led  her  out  upon  the  road. 

The  woman  had  seemed  like  one  dazed  while  lying 
there  in  hiding,  but  now  that  she  understood  that  the 
man  she  so  feared  had  really  gone  she  plucked  up 
courage,  and  declared  that  she  could  easily  walk  the 
remainder  of  the  way  to  Squaw  Forks — there  being  no 
habitations  at  that  time  between  the  two  points. 

They  reached  the  little  town  after  a  wearisome  tramp 
over  the  rough  road. 

Their  arrival  and  the  story  of  their  adventure  and 
escape  created  great  excitement  among  the  miners,  who 
gathered  at  one  of  the  stores  that  evening,  and  raised 
two  hundred  dollars  to  give  to  the  woman,  besides  pay- 


FRONTIER    SKETCHES.  39 

ing  her  stage  fare  in  advance  to  the  nearest  railway 
station  where  she  could  take  a  train  for  Denver. 

The  coach  and  the  team  were  discovered  the  next 
day,  a  shapeless  wreck,  having  taken  a  clear  plunge  of 
nearly  one  hundred  feet.     Only  the  mail  was  rescued. 

Corson  and  his  gang  "■  pulled  up  stakes ''  and  left  the 
region  immediately,  and  it  was  well  for  them  that  they 
did,  for  as  the  story  of  the  woman's  sufferings  became 
known,  the  irate  miners  would  surely  have  lynched 
them  if  they  had  not  taken  themselves  away. 


(£^9 


IV. 

THE  "MOANING  ROCK"  AT  BOGEY'S  BEND. 

A  daily  newspaper  widely  read  in  the  West  devotes 
a  page  of  each  Saturday's  edition,  seven  columns  or  so, 
to  collections  of  ghostl}''  doings,  as  related  by  local  nar- 
rators in  various  parts  of  its  own  and  surroundins: 
States.  These  tales  and  brief  accounts  are  entirely 
devoted  to  modern  and,  if  many  of  them  are  to  be 
believed,  "well-authenticated"  ghosts,  surprising  as  this 
may  seem  to  the  reader  who  has  not  the  advantage  of 
an  acquaintance  with  the  "  spook  "  columns  of  the  jour- 
nal in  question. 

There  are  stories,  indeed,  of  haunted  houses  in  south- 
western towns  where  even  the  electric  light  has  failed 
to  "lay"  their  nightly  and  mysterious  visitants.  This 
local  revival  in  ghostly  matters  and  beliefs  gives  good 
proof  of  the  strength  and  persistence  of  inherited  ten- 
dencies. 

In  the  backwoods  annals  of  forty  or  fifty  years  since 
we  expect  to  find  strong  traces  of  superstition,  tales  of 
weird  and  supernatural  happenings.  It  was  the  writer's 
good  fortune  lately  to  listen  to  one  of  these  old-time 
accounts  in  a  story  of  a  haunted  rock,  the  incidents  of 
which  were  told  him  by  one  who  took  part  in  the 
adventure,  and  are  well  remembered  by  old  inhabitants 
about  Bogey's  Bend. 

Bogey's  IBend  of  the  Wisconsin  river  received  its 
name  from  its  earliest  settler,  a  Canadian  Frenchman, 
who  had  married  an  Irish  wife  in  his  native  province, 
but  after  a  time  moved  westward  with  a  numerous 

40 


FRONTIER   SKETCHES.  41 

family  and  finally  settled  upon  a  fine  tract  of  land  in  a 
sweeping  bend  of  the  Wisconsin,  the  only  land  fit  for 
cultivating,  in  fact,  of  several  square  miles  contained 
within  the  curve,  the  remainder  being  swampy,  heavily 
timbered,  and  subject  to  over-flow.  Hence  it  was  a 
lonesome  spot,  and  other  settlers  had  been  content  with 
the  fertile  valleys  and  plateaus  of  the  bluffs  which  skirt 
the  river  valley.  A  spur  of  those  bluffs  projects  across 
the  valley  at  the  lower  end  of  Bogey's  Bend,  termi- 
nating in  a  razor-like  ridge,  sharply  descending  and 
abruptly  ending  at  the  river's  bank.  Numerous  big 
rocks,  jagged,  and  broken,  crown  the  "hog-back"  of 
this  ridge,  and  at  the  very  extremity,  protecting  this 
bluff,  indeed,  from  the  wear  of  a  swift  current,  stands 
a  pinnacled  rock  projecting  about  seventy-five  feet 
above  the  ridge  and  nearly  twice  that  distance  from 
the  water's  edge. 

To  the  right  of  this  rugged  sentinel,  calling  the  river 
its  front,  a  densely-timbered  swamp  stretches  for 
several  miles,  while  immediately  at  its  left  the  earth  of 
the  bluff  has  caved  off,  leaving  an  extremely  high  and 
steep  bank  plainly  bearing  the  marks  of  an  old  land- 
slide. And  it  was  told  by  the  old  trappers  of  the  region 
and  also  by  an  aged  Winnebago  chief,  known  as  an 
occasional  visitor  throughout  the  surrounding  settle- 
ments, that  the  caving  off  of  this  huge  bank  some 
thirty  years  before  had  buried  a  party  of  adventurers 
who,  with  a  Winnebago  guide,  had  drawn  their  canoes 
in  there  and  camped  for  the  night  upon  the  river  shore 
beneath  the  beetling  bluff. 

Ever  since  that  time,  so  the  trappers  and  the  Indian 
maintained,  the  spirits  of  these  unfortunates  had 
hovered  about  the  big  rock— had  made  it  their  home, 


42  FRONTIER   SKETCHES, 

in  fact ;  and  almost  any  night  of  the  year  they  might 
be  heard  moaning  and  sighing  in  a  way  that  made  the 
listeners  shiver.  When  the  wind  blew  strongly  up 
river  on  a  wet  night,  our  old  trapper  claimed,  it  was 
''  jes  beas'ly  terrible  ter  hear  thar  carryin's  on."  And 
the  old  "Winnebago  said  : 

"  Heap  spirit  make  um  noise,  scare  Injun  a  heap." 

The  trappers  and  hunters,  who  in  this  locality,  as  in 
all  others  throughout  the  Northwest,  had  preceded 
the  settlers',  giving  a  nomenclature  which  has  generally 
stuck  to  prominent  landmarks  and  streams,  had  not 
failed  in  the  matter  of  this  mysterious  rock,  and  its 
name,  "  The  Moaning  Eock,"  still  clings.  The  stories 
which  they  told  of  the  supernatural  noises  and  sights 
which  were  to  be  heard  and  seen — for  some  of  them 
claimed  also  to  have  seen  strange  things  about  the 
rock — naturall}^  found  a  credulous  reception  among  the 
more  ignorant  of  the  settlers,  and  in  fact  for  several 
years  the  locality  of  the  Moaning  Rock  was  pretty 
generally  avoided.  Even  among  those  who  "  poohed  " 
at  the  idea  of  there  being  any  ghosts  at  all,  and  boasted 
of  having  been  to  the  rock  and  that  nothing  of  the  kind 
was  to  be  heard  or  seen,  very  few,  if  anv.  had  ever  been 
known  to  go  there  in  the  night. 

Some  there  were,  of  course,  practical  men,  busied 
with  work  and  improvement  upon  their  new  farms, 
who  very  sensibly  paid  no  attention  to  any  tales  of  the 
sort  that  infested  this  rock,  and  who  had  no  interest  in 
visiting  the  isolated  spot. 

Peter  Bogey  was  one  of  these.  He  laughed  when 
his  children  or  wife  repeated  with  awe  the  accounts 
they  had  heard  of  the  "  Moaning  Rock,"  and  would  say 
good-humoredly : 


PKONTIER  SKETCHES.  43 

**  Fools  dey  ees  ticker  es  de  guss'oppers." 
But  to  his  Irish  wife  and  the  young  Bogeys  the  rock 
was  a  veritable  bugbear.  The  boys  could  scarce  be 
got  to  go  in  its  direction  in  search  of  the  cows  when 
the  animals  strayed  that  way.  However,  as  "  Al " 
Bogey,  the  oldest  boy,  got  well  along  in  his  teens  and 
began  to  extend  his  hunting  excursions  further  into  the 
swara-ps,  he  grew — like  his  father — skeptical  of  the 
ghosts  and  witches  in  which  his  mother  firmly  believed, 
and  at  length  became  so  bold  in  one  of  his  hunts  as  to 
track  a  deer  directly  up  to  the  foot  of  the  ledge  above 
the  crown  of  which  towered  the  redoubtable  rock.  He 
had  seen  it  once  before  from  a  height  of  bluff  some 
half  a  mile  distant — a  safe  point  of  view — beyond 
which  few  visitors  ventured. 

What  he  saw  now  was  a  steeple-like  rock,  triangular 
in  shape,  with  rough,  jagged  edges  and  sharp  projec- 
tions, and  growing  beside  it  in  a  sheltering  fashion  a 
huge  whiteoak-tree,  some  of  the  largest  limbs  of  which 
had  been  turned  aside  in  their  growth  by  its  nearness. 
Al  could  not  but  feel  that  it  was  a  bold  thing  to  stand 
there  surveying  the  rock,  and  felt  not  a  little  uneasy, 
notwithstanding  his  lately-aroused  skepticism.  He 
lingered  for  some  time,  and  though  he  felt  strongly  the 
influence  of  the  old  tales  he  had  listened  to,  and  the 
weird  lonesomeness  of  the  spot,  he  neither  saw  nor 
heard  anything  of  an  alarming  nature.  Yet  he  knew 
that  night  was  the  real  time  to  settle  the  matter — at 
night,  when  the  wind  "blew  strong  up  river."  And  as 
he  wandered  towards  home,  having  lost  the  trail  of  the 
deer  upon  the  hard  dry  soil  of  the  ridge,  he  came  to 
the  determination  to  find  out  for  certain  whether  the 
story  of  strange  noises  and  sights  at  the  "  Moaning 


44:  FRONTIER   SKETCHES. 

Kock"  were  true  or  not.  He  knew  a  young  fellow,  Jet 
Ferris,  over  on  Bear  Creek,  whom  he  was  sure  he  could 
get  to  go  with  him. 

Jet  was  a  great  hunter,  afraid  of  nothing,  and  would 
as  gladly  be  out  all  night  as  all  day  if  there  were  any 
fun  or  excitement  to  be  had. 

He  said  nothing  at  home  of  his  visit  to  the  rock  or 
of  his  plan,  not  wishing  to  arouse  the  fears  and  oppo- 
sition of  his  mother,  who  beUeved  in  real  ghosts  and 
wizards,  and  that  only  evil  could  befall  those  who  tried 
to  pry  into  their  affairs. 

It  was  September,  and  Al  had  not  long  to  wait  for  a 
wet,  drizzly  day  which  freed  him  from  work  and  also 
promised  the  right  sort  of  a  night  for  his  adventure, 
the  wind  blowing  "  up  river,"  or  nearly  so.  As  soon 
as  his  morning  chores  were  done  he  took  down  his 
father's  rifle  and  set  out  for  the  home  of  Jet,  on  Bear 
Creek,  four  miles  distant.  Upon  reaching  young  Fer- 
ris's  home  lie  was  told  that  "  Jet  hed  went  up  t'  the 
Birch  Bluffs  t'  shoot  pa'tridges,"  and  was  asked  to 
come  in,  "  set  by  the  fire  an'  dry  yer  clo's." 

But  he  declined  the  invitation,  saying: 

"  Wet  clothes  ain't  nothin'." 

And,  well  knowing  that  the  game  Jet  was  hunting 
would  be  found  that  day  upon  the  sheltered  side  of  the 
bluffs,  he  set  out  after  the  hunter  again,  and,  after  a 
two  hours'  tramp,  succeeded  in  finding  him. 

Jet,  after  his  fashion,  gave  Al  a  boisterous  greeting, 
and  then  readily  agreed  to  his  proposal  to  spend  the 
night,  or  a  part  of  it,  at  the  Moaning  Kock. 

"  I  ben  awantin'  ter  dew  it, "  said  Jet,  "  fer  a  long 
time,  but  I  didn't  know  of  nobody  as  I  thought  'd 
wanter  go  long  'th  me  'n'  I  couldn't  scrouge  myself 


FKONTIER   SKETCHES.  45 

clean  up  ter  the  p'int  of  goin'  alone ;  but  along  of  you 
I  ain't  afeared. " 

They  spent  a  large  part  of  the  day  in  hunting, 
returning  to  Jet's  home  with  back-loads  of  pheasants 
and  squirrels.  Then,  after  an  early  supper,  or  rather, 
a  late  dinner,  they  started  for  the  Moaning  Kock — a 
trip  of  four  miles  or  more  along  the  tops  of  the  Bear 
Creek  Bluffs. 

It  was  yet  broad  daylight  when  tliey  reached  the 
rock.  They  went  boldly  up  to  it,  walking  along  the 
base  and  gazing  up  at  the  ragged  sides  and  pinnacled 
tops. 

"  No  spooks  up  thar  es  I  c'n  see, "  laughed  Jet. 
And  then,  as  it  still  lacked  some  time  of  growing  dark, 
he  proposed  that  they  should  go  down  into  the  swamp 
with  the  dog  and  "  see  'f  he  can't  stir  out  a  coon  er  a 
wild  cat. " 

To  this  plan  Al  eagerly  agreed.  Having  a  lantern 
with  them  to  light  their  way  home  they  set  it  down  at 
the  base  of  the  big  oak  to  await  their  return. 

After  a  half  hour's  unsuccessful  beating  about  in  the 
nearer  parts  of  the  big  timber  swamp  it  began  to  grow 
dusk,  and  they  turned  back  for  their  night's  vigil. 
The  wind,  instead  of  "  going  down  with  the  sun, "  had 
risen  considerably,  and  was  blowing  stiffly  among  the 
tree-tops  as  they  emerged  upon  the  river  bank  at  the 
foot  of  the  big  rock.  There  was  a  fine  rain  falling  also, 
and  they  started  at  once  to  pass  around  the  base  of  the 
rock  and  climb  the  ridge  to  the  shelter  of  the  big  oak 
which  branched  out  partially  on  the  leeward  side  of  its 
neighbor.  They  had  not  ascended  one-third  of  the 
way  when  a  strange,  weird  sound  broke  out  above 


46  FKONTIEK   SKETCHES. 

their  heads — a  long-drawn  wail  that  wound  up  in 
almost  a  shriek. 

Al  Bogey,  who  is  now  a  man  considerably  past  mid- 
dle age,  says  though  he  fought  three  years  in  the  war 
he  can  remember  no  moment  of  his  life  of  such  terrible 
fright  and  suspense  as  the  one  in  which  he  first  listened 
to  this  wail  from  the  Moaning  Rock.  He  cowered 
down  to  the  very  ground,  expecting  instantly  some 
awful  vision  to  present  itself.  But  Jet  stood  boldly 
up  and  listened  intently  while  yet  another  mournful 
wail  broke  forth  and  quavered,  at  first  low  and  plain- 
tively, then  increased  to  a  shrill  whistle,  then  'died 
away  only  to  be  followed  by  others,  sounding  some- 
times singly,  sometimes  a  number  in  unison, 

"  Notbin'  in  the  worl'  but  the  wind  up  'mong  them 
snags  'n'  jags  of  rock,"  he  said  presently,  and  in  a 
triumphant,  conclusive  tone  that  brought  Al  to  his  feet 
with  a  heart  that  soon  began  to  beat  naturally  with 
the  sudden  conviction  that  Jet  was  right.  He,  too, 
now  that  his  "  right  mind  "  had  returned,  could  recog- 
nize the  old  familiar  whistle  ot  the  wind,  as  it  had 
sounded  from  his  baby  days  around  the  chimneys  and 
the  roofs  of  the  log  houses  in  which  he  had  lived. 

He  was  breathing  easy  again  when  suddenly  an 
entirely  different  and  more  appalling  sound  jarred 
upon  his  ears,  and  once  more  sent  a  chill  creeping  over 
him. 

C-r-r-a-ai-k-h  ! 

It  was  a  harsh,  discordant  scream,  such  as  might 
have  issued  from  the  mouth  of  the  ugliest  wizard  of 
all  his  mother's  category. 

"  Mercy,  Jet !  he  exclaimed  ;  "  what's  thait  ? " 

"Huh  !"  grunted  the  stolid  fellow,    "a  feller  that 


FKONTIEK   SKETCHES.  47 

runs  in  the  woods  oughter  know  ihat  sound  ;  it's  two 
o'  them  big  boughs  up  thar  that's  growed  crosswise  a 
gr-ittin'  agin  each  other.  I've  hearn  'em  do  that  a 
hundred  times  in  the  woods.  Now  them  sounds,"  he 
went  on,  "  is  jest  the  long  'n'  short  o'  the  hull  o'  this 
here  sperrit  business ;  an'  es  fer  seein'  things,  why  eny 
body  es  is  too  skeered  ter  know  them  sounds  could  see 
a  'most  any  thing  they  'magined,  I  sh'd  jedge." 

This  made  Al  feel  rather  small,  but  he  owned  his 
cowardly  feeling. 

"I  was  skeered.  Jet,  that's  a  fact,  'n'  if  I'd  ben 
alone,"  he  said,  "thet  rock  would  'a'  ben  howlin'  with 
sperrits." 

"O,  wal,"  replied  Jet,  with  intent  to  comfort,  "you 
haint  traipsed  the  woods  es  many  years  es  I  have,  else 
ye'd  know'd  them  sounds.     Thar  she  goes  agin' — " 

S-G-r-r-e-a-k  ! 

"Now  let's  go  up,"  he  concluded,  "an  git  our 
lantern  'n'  strike  fer  home." 

The  wind  whistled  and  screamed  overhead  as  they 
climbed,  and  when  they  reached  the  trunk  of  the  old 
oak  a  new  wonder  greeted  them — the  lantern  was 
gone ! 

Although  fast  growing  dark  it  was  still  light  enough 
to  have  discovered  the  lantern  had  it  been  near  the 
spot  where  they  had  left  it ;  it  was  a  bright  new  one, 
and  its  polished  tin  base  could  almost  have  been  seen 
in  utter  darkness.  In  vain  they  lit  matches,  and 
finally  built  a  fire  from  dry  sticks  gathered  within 
shelter  of  the  rock ;  their  luminary  was  gone,  and  no 
trace  of  it  could  be  found.  The  wind  could  not  reach 
the  spot  where  it  had  sat,  and  the  dog  had  been  at 
their  ^eels  coming  up  from  the  hunt ;  therefore  some- 


48  FRONTIER   SKETCHES. 

thing  or  somebody  unknown  to  them  had  taken  it 
away. 

"  Wall,"  said  Jet,  scratching  his  puzzled  head,  "  this 
here  comes  the  neardest  to  speritool  perceedin's  of 
anything  I've  hearn  on  'bout  this  rock." 

It  was  about  this  time  that  the  dog  began  to  show 
signs  of  excitement.  Suddenly  putting  his  nose  to  the 
ground  he  ran  out  to  the  river  bank  along  the  top  of 
the  land-slide  and  began  barking  furiously. 

The  boys  piled  more  sticks  on  the  fire  and  then  fol- 
lowed the  animal. 

"  That's  whar  our  lantern's  gone,  "  declared  Jet. 
"Don't  know  what's  got  it,  but  that  dawg's  follered  it 
fur's  he  could,  sure.  Thar's  somethin'  round  here  that 
ain't  no  sperrit,  fer  that  dawg  don't  foller  nothin'  that 
don't  make  tracks  ner  leave  no  smell." 

They  cautiously  approached  the  edge  of  the  bank 
where  the  animal  was  jumping  about  in  noisy  excite- 
ment, and  peered  over  into  a  black  depth  which  the  on- 
coming night  had  made  murky  and  forbidding  enough. 

Nothing  was  to  be  seen  or  heard  ;  the  wind's  roar 
drowned  even  the  swash  of  the  current  which  ran 
below. 

"  Thar's  somethin'  down  thar  somewhar,"  declared 
Jet,  positively. 

"  Shucks  !  "  said  Al.  "  How  could  any  thin'  be  down 
thar  on  the  sides  of  that  slide  ?  " 

Just  then,  as  if  in  answer  to  the  question,  there 
flashed  out  below  a  little  to  their  left  a  thin  stream  of 
light.  It  came  from  the  bank  and  projected  in  a  funnel- 
shaped  glare,  like  the  light  from  a  bull's  eye  lantern. 

They  weie  startled,  and  yet  the  streak  of  light  shone 
out  into  the  blackness  with  such  a  natural,  cheerful 


FKONTIER   SKETCHES.  49 

g-leam  that  there  could  be  no  doubt  of  a  genuine  flame 
behind  it,  queer  as  the  situation  seemed. 

"  What'd  I  tell  ye  ? "  exclaimed  Jet,  triumphantly. 
"Some  feller  down  there  with  our  lantern." 

"  Fishin'  mebbe,"  suggested  Al.  "  Must  be  farther 
down  than  it  looks." 

"No,"  said  Jet,  "  it's  comin'  right  out  o  'the  centre  o' 
the  bank  not  more'n  forty  feet  below.  Somebody's  in 
a  cave  or  a  hole  down  thar,  'n'  if  'tw'a'nt  fer  this 
howlin'  wind  I  sh'd  expect  'em  ter  hear  the  racket  up 
here  'n'  be  pokin'  ther  heads  out." 

The  dog  had  suddenly  left  them  again,  and  a  moment 
later  they  heard  him  barking  directly  below  and  nearly 
beneath  them. 

'Thar — see  !  "  exclaimed  Jet.  "  Thar's  a  path  goes 
down  ;  it's  out  here  by  the  rock."  And  he  ran  to  the 
fire,  and,  gathering  the  unburnt  ends  of  several  flaming 
brands,  in  his  hands,  arranged  a  torch. 

"  Now,  come  on,"  he  said  ;  "  let's  find  the  path." 

"Ain't  you  feared  ?  "  asked  Al. 

"  Shucks,  no,"  replied  the  plucky  fellow;  "it's  only 
some  ol'  trapper  that's  got  a  good  thing  long  of  these 
banks  which  nobody  won't  come  near,  'n'  the  cute  ol 
feller's  dug  a  hole  down  thar  so's  ter  keep  hid  up." 

This  theory  re-assured  Al,  and,  hiding  their  guns  under 
a  dry  ledge,  they  passed  around  the  rock  to  the  edge  of 
the  bank.  After  a  moment's  careful  search  the  path  was 
found  leading  from  between  two  boulders  obliquely 
along  the  steep  incline.  By  the  light  of  Jet's  flaming 
sticks  they  could  trace  the  narrow  roadway  several 
yards  in  advance.  It  had  plainly  been  cut  into  the  bank 
by  the  aid  of  tools,  but  it  proved  a  ticklish  affair,  barely 
sufiicient  for  safe  passage  in  daylight,  and  after  descend- 


50  FRONTIER    SKETCHES. 

ing  carefully  the  slippery  way  for  a  dozen  steps  or  so, 
Jet  halted. 

•'  'Taint  safe,"  he  announced  to  Al,  who  was  cau- 
tiously following,  while  he  held  the  torch  above  his 
head.  "'Taint  safe  to  go  no  furder,  slippery  'n'  narrer, 
'n'  what's  more,  the  rain's  goin'  to  put  this  light  out 
d'rectly." 

All  this  time  the  dog  had  barked  energetically 
ahead,  but  as  Jot  finished  there  came  the  booming 
reports  of  a  gun,  followed  by  a  sharp  canine  yelp  either 
of  fright  or  pain.  It  was  evident  almost  instantly  that 
the  animal  was  more  frightened  than  hurt,  for,  peering 
ahead  under  his  waning  light,  Jet  saw  the  dog  bounding 
up  the  path.  Instinctively  the  torch-bearer  threw  him- 
self back  against  the  bank,  and  the  dog  sprang  past, 
brushing  him  smartly,  but  not  pusliing  him  off  his  feet. 
AI  was  not  so  lucky ;  the  brute,  both  frightened  and 
hurt,  as  it  afterwards  proved,  struck  him  squarely  upon 
the  legs,  knocking  his  feet  from  under  him. 

Instantly  the  luckless  lad  was  sent  sliding  down  the 
slippery  incline  at  a  rate  of  speed  which  took  his 
breath  and  left  him  no  time  for  thought  or  action. 
Luckily  he  started  feet  first,  and  instinct,  of  course, 
made  him  clutch  the  earth  of  the  bank  with  either 
hand,  thus  keeping  his  body  in  the  same  position ;  at 
least  he  supposes  so,  for  he  had  sense  enough  to  feel 
that  he  struck  the  water  feet  first,  and,  after  a  strang- 
ling splash,  was  surprised  to  find  himself  standing  up  to 
his  neck  in  the  current  and  up  to  his  knees  in  mud.  It 
was  the  season  of  low  water,  and  the  stronger  portion 
of  the  current  turned  further  out  by  the  rock  above 
had  allowed  the  water  to  fall  awav  from  the  bank  and 


FKONTIEK   SKETCHES.  51 

intervening  bed  to  fill  partially  with  the  earth  washed 
down  from  above. 

As  soon  as  he  got  his  breath  Al  began  the  struggle  to 
free  his  feet,  which  it  took  some  time  to  do,  as  the  veloc- 
ity of  his  "  slide "  had  driven  his  legs  into  the  sticky 
material  with  no  little  force.  He  succeeded  at  length, 
and  then  setting  to  work  as  best  he  could  in  such  a 
depth  of  water  and  such  darkness,  got  off  his  boots  and 
most  of  his  clothes  and  made  a  bundle  of  them.  He 
was  a  good  swimmer,  and  as  the  water  was  not  very 
cold  he  struck  boldly  out  into  the  current  and  swam 
down  stream,  using  one  hand  and  his  legs,  while  with 
the  other  hand  he  clung  to  his  clothes. 

He  had  swum  but  a  few  minutes  when  he  heard  Jet's 
voice  hallooing  at  him  from  the  bank  above.  He  gave 
an  answering  shout,  to  which  Jet  replied  with  a  joyful 
whoop. 

"  Down  a  leetle  f  urder  here,  Al,"  he  shouted ;  "  here's 
a  good  place  ter  climb  the  bank.  And  Al  having 
rounded  the  bluff  came  in  shore  by  the  aid  of  Jet's  light 
and  was  soon  standing  dripping  upon  the  bank,  while 
Jet,  holding  a  dimly-burning  brand,  danced  around  him 
in  a  furor  of  delight. 

"  Hurray ! "  he  said,  "  I  thought  ye  was  a  goner. 
Mighty  lucky  there  wasn't  no  stones  ner  stumps  ter  hit 
agin.  Now  git  on  yer  clo'es,  fer  we  must  be  gettin'  out 
o'  this.  I  brung  down  the  guns,  hopin'  ye'd  turn  up  all 
right,  fer  'twont  be  safe  fer  us  ter  poke  round  up  thar 
any  more.  They's  a  den  o'  thieves,  er  wuss,  up  thar  in 
that  bank." 

After  a  weary,  stumbling  tramp  over  the  bluffs,  they 
succeeded  in  reaching  Ferris's  house  in  the  valley.  The 
family  got  up  to  listen  to  their  story,  and  the  dog  was 


52  FUONTIEK   SKETCHES. 

called  in  and  carefully  examined.  Two  slight  buckshot 
wounds  in  the  jaw  and  shoulder  attested  the  truth  of 
the  boys'  narrative. 

By  noon  the  next  day  nearly  all  the  men  and  boys  of 
Bear  Creek  had  assembled,  each  armed  with  some  sort 
of  weapon,  at  the  Moaning  Rock. 

But  the  inhabitants  of  the  bank  had  flown ;  their  den 
a  roomy  excavation  with  a  small  entrance  just  large 
enough  to  crawl  through  handily,  was  found  empty,  and 
the  hay  or  grass  which  they  had  used  for  beds  had  been 
scattered  over  the  floor  of  the  cavern  and  burned,  thus 
leaving  no  scrap  of  anything  by  which  their  business  or 
their  number  might  be  guessed.  There  were  two 
paths,  one  leading  to  the  ridge  above,  and  the  other  to 
the  water  below,  thus  giving  two  avenues  of  escape,  as 
they  had,  no  doubt,  a  boat  in  hiding  upon  the  river. 

The  bank  proved  not  to  be  so  steep  as  it  appeared  in 
looking  from  the  top  or  bottom.  The  cave-dwellers, 
whoever  they  were,  were  evidently  aware  of  the  super- 
stition investing  the  Moaning  Rock,  and  had  taken 
advantage  of  the  protection  it  offered  in  seeking  a  base 
for  some  secret  and,  no  doubt,  illegal  traffic. 

The  settlers  at  once  concluded  that  they  were  coun- 
terfeiters, and  probably  they  were  right  in  so  thinking, 
for  the  country  at  that  time  was  exceedingly  pestered 
with  well-counterfeited  bills  of  the  State,  or  "  Wild-cat " 
banks,  as  they  came  to  be  called  later. 

As  the  rain  had  obliterated  all  traces  of  flight,  how- 
ever, no  attempt  was  made  to  follow  this  band,  for  it 
was  evident  from  the  size  of  the  cave  and  the  work  that 
had  been  done  that  there  must  have  been  a  number  of 
them.  That  they  had  thought  themselves  discovered 
and  were  prepared  for  fight,  even  before  Jet  and  Al  had 


FRONTIER   SKETCHES. 


53 


returned  from  the  swamp,  seemed  evident  from  the 
taking  of  the  lantern  and  their  warning  shot  at  the  dog. 

The  cave  remained  a  neighborhood  curiosity  for  some 
years,  and  was  inhabited  for  a  time  by  wolves,  but  at 
length  the  wash  of  heavy  rains  wore  away  and  destroyed 
all  trace  of  both  path  and  cavern. 

The  episode  above  related,  however,  broke  the  spell 
which  had  so  long  hung  around  the  Moaning  Rock,  and 
Jet  and  Al  got,  as  they  deserved,  no  little  credit  for 
their  plucky  adventure. 


V. 

MORTIMER  HALLECK'S  ADVENTURE. 

Among  the  many  adventurous  incidents  of  our 
frontier  life  in  northwest  Iowa,  fifteen  years  ago,  I 
recall  one  that  befell  a  boy  neighbor,  Mortimer  Hal- 
leek,  in  which  his  recklessness  came  very  near  causing 
his  death. 

There  were  five  of  us  boys,  who  formed  a  little  com- 
pany of  tried  friends  and  pledged  comrades.  We 
hunted,  trapped,  boated,  went  skating  and  swimming 
together,  and,  when  the  first  frame  school-house  was 
built,  we  occupied  the  two  back  seats,  on  the  boys'  side. 

In  our  hunts  after  deer,  wolves,  badgers,  and  feath- 
ered game,  we  found  an  exhilaration  such  as  I  never 
again  expect  to  experience  in  the  tamer  pursuits 
of  life.  We  even  felt  an  exultant  joy  in  the  fierce 
buffeting  of  the  winter  blizzards  which  annually 
descended  upon  us  from  the  plateaus  of  Dakota. 

During  the  regular  season  of  bird  migration,  the 
resounding  golunlc,  golunk,  of  the  wild  goose,  the 
shrill  hlil-la-la  of  the  swift  and  warj'^  brant,  the  affec- 
tionate qu-a-a-rr-Jc^  quack  of  the  Mallard  drake  and  his 
mate,  with  the  strange,  inimitable  cry  of  the  whooping 
crane,  combined  to  form  a  sylvan  orchestra,  the  music 
of  which  thrilled  us  with  more  pleasurable  sensations 
than  were  ever  awakened  by  the  household  organ  or 
the  town  brass  band  of  later  3'ears. 

In  the  early  spring,  during  the  alternate  slush,  mud 
and  freeze  of  the  first  thaws,  there  always  occurred  a 

6i 


FKONTIKK   SKETCHES.  55 

short  vacation  from  school  and  work,  in  which  we 
gathered  a  harvest  of  fun,  fur  and  feathers. 

At  this  season,  the  low,  fiat  valleys  of  the  Little 
Sioux  and  the  Ochejedan  rivers  were  covered  six  or 
eight  feet  deep  by  the  annual  overflow;  and  torrents  of 
yellow  snow-water,  the  melting  of  tremendous  drifts, 
rushed  down  creeks  and  ravines. 

As  soon  as  these  impetuous  currents  had  gathered 
force  enough  to  upheave  the  thick  layers  of  ice  in  the 
river-beds  and  break  over  the  b;inks,  out  came  beaver, 
musk-rat  and  mink,  driven  from  house  and  hole  to  take 
refuge  upon  the  masses  of  ice  and  drift  stuff  which 
lodged  in  the  thickets  of  tall  willows  that  grew  along 
the  beds  of  these  streams.  Here  they  were  obliged  to 
stay  until  the  water  subsided,  and  here  they  often  fell 
a  prey  to  the  rifle  or  shot-gun  of  the  hunter. 

We  owned  three  boats  in  common ;  and  as  the  men 
of  the  settlement  were  not  particularly  busy  during  the 
freshet  season,  we  could  easily  persuade  or  hire  them  to 
load  our  skiffs  on  their  wagons,  and  haul  us  eight  or  ten 
miles  up  the  Sioux  or  Ocheyedan,  for  half  a  day's  run 
down  home,  in  which  scarcely  the  stroke  of  an  oar  was 
necessary,  after  getting  out  into  the  main  channel. 
Floating  leisurely  down,  we  were  able  to  hunt  musk- 
rat,  geese  and  ducks,  which  were  plentiful,  on  the  water 
or  on  the  banks. 

Beaver  were  scarce,  but  we  occasionally  got  one. 
A  mink  or  two,  a  couple  of  dozen  musk-rats,  and  a 
goodly  bag  of  feathered  game  were  often  the  result  of 
a  half-day's  run  with  a  single  boat. 

Mortimer  Halleck,  who  at  this  time  lived  in  the 
fork  of  the  rivers,  and  at  a  considerable  distance  from 
the   rest  of  us,  owned  a  staunch  skiff,  which  he  had 


56  FRONTIER   SKETCHES. 

himself  made,  and  in  it  went  often  alone  upon  the 
rivers.  It  was  upon  one  of  these  solitary  trips  that  he 
met  with  the  adventure  mentioned. 

On  a  raw  afternoon  in  Marcii,  his  father  had  taken 
Mortimer  and  his  boat  on  his  double  horse  wagon  six 
miles  up  stream.  At  this  point  there  was  a  great  bend 
in  the  river,  and,  by  crossing  the  neck,  the  water  dis- 
tance to  the  fork  was  lengthened  to  fifteen  miles. 
Mortimer  was  thus  set  afloat  with  his  boat,  with  a  long 
afternoon's  run  on  the  river  before  him. 

For  several  hours  the  young  hunter  allowed  his  boat 
to  drift  down  with  the  current,  then  swollen  to  an 
unusual  height.  His  eyes,  roving  on  either  hand,  were 
now  and  then  rewarded  with  the  sight  of  a  small  brown 
bunch  of  fur,  resting  on  a  bit  of  lodged  drift.  Then 
followed  a  quick  puff  of  smoke,  and  the  echoing  report 
from  the  shot-gun.  The  troubles  of  the  furry  little  chap 
were  at  an  end.  The  kinks  would  straighten  out 
of  its  small  humped  back,  and,  as  a  deft  turn  of  the 
oars  brought  the  boat  alongside,  the  hunter's  hand 
would  reach  over  the  edge,  grasp  the  long,  slim  tail, 
and  fling  the  body  of  the  sleek  little  musquash  into  the 
boat. 

Twice  during  the  afternoon  a  flock  of  geese  had 
ventured  low  down  over  the  drifting  boatman,  and 
each  time  one  of  the  flock  had  fallen  a  victim.  The 
others  had  hurried  away  in  noisy  confusion.  He  had 
hardly  expected  to  find  beaver,  yet  as  the  night  drew 
on  without  a  sight  of  one,  he  felt  a  little  disappointed. 
True,  he  had  secured  a  profitable  lot  of  game:  two 
geese,  a  mink,  and  more  than  a  dozen  muskrats. 

But  he  wanted  to  show  a  beaver  with  the  rest  of  his 
bag,  and  he  had  about  given  up  his  hopes  of  it  when, 


FEONTIEB   SKETCHES.  57 

just  as  the  sun  was  setting  and  while  he  \vas  passing 
down  the  mid  channel  between  two  long  lines  of  clus- 
tering willow  thickets,  he  espied  the  very  object  of  his 
desires  directly  ahead  and  within  easy  range. 

The  animal  was  rolled  up  in  a  rusty  brown  ball,  lying 
in  a  snug  nest  amid  the  bushy  sprouts  from  an  elm 
stub  which  projected  three  or  four  feet  above  the 
water.  The  tree  had  been  broken  off,  and  leaned  out 
from  the  summer  banks  of  the  river.  It  had  grown, 
as  elm  stumps  often  do,  a  dense  fringe  of  short,  tangled 
brush  about  the  end  of  the  trunk.  Among  these  sprouts 
the  beaver  had  fashioned  a  nest,  and  was  lying  curled 
up,  asleep  when  Mortimer,  drifting  silently  down 
within  short  range,  raised  his  gun  and  shot  at  it. 

But  the  beaver  is  a  "hard-lived"  animal,  and,  even 
when  shot  at  such  close  quarters,  will  quite  frequently 
flop  off  its  perch  into  the  water,  and,  clutching  with 
teeth  and  claws  into  roots  or  grass  at  the  bottom, 
remain  there.  In  that  case,  the  hunter's  ammunition 
is  simply  wasted. 

This  had  happened  more  than  once  in  Mortimer's 
experience,  and,  fearing  that  it  might  happen  again, 
for  he  saw  the  beaver  floundering  heavily  in  its  nest, 
be  brought  the  boat  about  in  great  haste,  circled  around 
the  stump,  and  jammed  the  bow  into  the  sprouts.  He 
then  dropped  the  oars,  and  sprang  forward  to  secure 
the  game. 

His  haste  was  unfortunate ;  for,  though  he  grasped 
at  the  small  limbs  quickly  enough  to  have  held  the 
boat  in  place  if  it  had  not  been  in  motion,  his  impetus 
was  so  great  that  the  unsteady  skiff  recoiled  backward 
with  a  force  that  pitched  him  over  the  prow,  upon  the 
very  top  of  the  stub.     He  lurched  off  to  one  side,  and 


58 


FKONTIER   SKETCHES. 


his  feet  and  legs  splashed  into  the  water;  but  he 
escaped  a  complete  ducking  by  clenching  the  top  of  the 
trunk  with  his  left  arm,  while  with  his  right  hand  he 
grasped  miefoot  of  the  heaver!  And  then  he  glanced 
around  for  his  boat. 

It  was  gone,  and  had  left  him  in  a  most  perilous 
situation.    The  light  skiff,  impelled  by  the  force  of  his 


Mortimer  looked  after  it  in  utter  dismay. — Page  58. 

fall  out  of  it,  had  floated  back  into  the  current,  and 
was  already  more  than  a  dozen  yards  out,  moving  down 
stream. 

Mortimer  looked  after  it  in  utter  dismay. 

It  was  now  too  late  to  make  a  swim  for  it ;  he  could 
never  live  in  that  strong,  icy  current  long  enough  to 
ronch  it. 

With  a  few  cautious  hitches  he  succeeded  in  gaining 
a  ticklish  seat  upon  the  broken  top  of  the  stump,  where 


FRONTIER   SKETCHES.  59 

he  maintained  himself  by  resting  his  feet  upon  two  of  the 
stoutest  sprouts.  Seated  thus,  ho  could  feel  an  unsteady- 
quivering  of  the  trunk,  a  trembling,  wrenching  motion, 
that  told,  but  too  plainly,  of  the  powerful  force  of  the 
flood,  and  of  the  uncertain  tenure  which  he  possessed 
on  even  this  comfortless  refuge. 

The  lad  was  now  thoroughly  alarmed,  and  surveyed 
his  surroundings  with  a  growing  fear  that  gained  not 
a  ray  of  hope  from  the  prospect.  The  situation  was 
truly  a  grave  one. 

On  all  sides  was  the  hurrying  flow  of  the  grim,  dark 
waters,  which  rushed  swirHng  and  eddying  onward, 
The  current  swashed  dismally  among  the  slender, 
swaying  willows,  on  either  side  ;  and  beyond  these,  he 
knew  that  there;  was  at  least  three  hundred  yards  of 
swimming  depth  before  either  shore  could  be  reached. 

If  any  one  should  happen  to  pass,  he  could  not,  from 
the  land,  see  Mortimer,  on  account  of  the  willows. 
The  nearest  house  was  three  or  four  miles  distant;  and 
a  voice  could  be  heard  but  a  little  distance,  above  the 
swash  of  the  flood  and  the  rush  of  the  cold  wind. 

Mortimer's  parents  did  not  expect  him  to  return 
until  late  in  the  evening,  and  they  would  probably 
make  no  effort  to  learn  of  his  whereabouts  until  after 
midnight.  The  night,  too,  was  already  growing  very 
cold,  with  a  raw,  gusty  wind  that  soughed  drearily 
among  the  willows  ;  his  bare  hands  and  wet  feet  were 
fast  becoming  chilled  and  numb. 

All  the  desolation,  helplessness  and  misery  of  the 
situation  were  forced  upon  him  by  that  keen  and 
merciless  power  of  reflection  which  so  often  attacks 
the  mind  in  moments  of  extreme  peril  or  of  sudden 
disaster. 


60  FRONTIER   SKETCHES. 

He  saw  but  too  plainly  that  it  was  useless  to  look  for 
rescue  before  morning,  and,  clinging  there  to  his  bleak 
and  uncertain  perch,  he  felt  that  he  would  assuredly- 
chill  to  death  in  a  few  hours. 

Looking  out  into  the  gloom  of  the  coming  dusk,  with 
the  long,  black,  freezing  night  staring  him  in  the  face, 
tears  gathered  in  the  poor  fellow's  eyes,  and  a  lump  of 
choking  misery  rose  up  in  his  throat.  Yet  he  was  a 
brave  fellow,  who  had  never  been  known  to  yield  an 
inch  before  any  danger  which  must  be  met,  when,  the 
balance  of  probabilities  was  adjusted  with  any  degree 
of  fairness.  In  this  case,  the  probabilititis  were  all  on 
one  side,  and  that  side  was  against  him. 

"There  just  aint  any  chance  for  me  at  all,"  he 
groaned,  at  length.  ''  I'm  in  a  much  worse  predica- 
ment than  the  beaver  and  muskrats ;  for  if  they  do. 
get  killed,  it's  so  sudden  they  don't  know  it,  but  I've 
got  to  die  by  inches.  I've  just  got  to  sit  here  and 
freeze  a  little  at  a  time,  till  I  fall  off  and  finish  life  by 
drowning." 

A  wretched  enough  prospect!  Yet  that  was  the  fate 
which  seemed  certainly  awaiting  him.  Wet  as  he  was, 
and  already  shivering,  with  no  chance  for  exercise, 
there  seemed  little  chance  of  surviving  the  cold,  dismal 
night. 

Sitting  in  hopeless  suffering,  he  peered  about  him 
again  and  again  in  the  gathering  darkness,  in  the  vain 
hope  of  discovering  something  that  could  give  him  an 
atom  of  comfort.  Then,  whipping  his  numbed  hands 
about  his  shoulders  until  they  tingled,  he  attemped  to 
remove  his  soaked  and  stiffening  boots ;  but,  owing  to  his 
shaky  and  uncertain  seat,  he  was  baffled  in  this  effort 
also. 


FKONTIER    SKETCHES.  61 

Then,  with  feet  and  legs  growing  every  moment 
more  numb,  he  sat,  clinging  with  one  hand  to  the  stump, 
whipping  the  other,  shouting  at  intervals,  and  waiting 
for — he  dared  not  think  what. 

An  hour  passed;  then  another;  dumb,  dreary  despair 
had  settled  upon  his  mind.  Insensibly  he  fell  into  a 
half-frozen  stupor.  He  was  beginning  to  think,  in  a 
numb,  way,  that  it  did  not  make  any  particular  differ- 
ence to  him  what  happened  now. 

An  hour  or  more  dragged  by  thus  sluggishly,  then 
a  sudden  shock,  accompanied  by  a  grinding  noise, 
threw  him  partly  off  the  stump.  Instinctively  he 
clutched  the  sprouts  with  his  chilled  fingers,  but  slid 
down,  expecting  to  sink  in  the  cold  waters. 

But  he  struck  something  solid  and  white.  It  was  a 
large  ice-cake,  which  had  come  floating  down  the  river 
and  touched  the  elm  stump.  The  jar  of  his  fall  roused 
the  boy ;  he  staggered  to  his  feet,  feeling  strange  in  his 
head,  and  with  queer  and  painful  sensations  about  the 
arms  and  shoulders. 

He  tried  to  step,  but  at  first  it  seemed  as  if  his  feet 
must  be  frozen ;  yet,  after  stamping  about  for  a  few 
minutes,  they  began  to  lose  their  feeling  of  lumpishness 
and  to  prickle. 

He  then  sat  j^own  upon  the  ice,  and,  after  a  struggle, 
worked  off  his  boots,  squeezed  the  water  from  his  socks, 
and  chafed  and  pounded  his  feet  until  they  felt  alive. 
This  done,  he  got  up  and  looked  around  ;  and  hope 
revived  within  him. 

The  ice-cake  was  a  large  and  solid  one,  twenty  feet 
across  at  least ;  and,  owing  to  the  falling  of  the  river, 
it  was  floating  down  the  centre  of  the  channel.     He 


62  FRONTIKK   SKETCHES. 

was,  at  least,  floating  toward  home;  and  there  was 
room  to  stamp  about  and  keej)  from  freezing. 

Mortimer's  spirits  rose  with  the  renewed  circulation 
of  the  blood.  lie  shouted,  beat  his  arms  about  his  chest, 
he  even  danced,  the  better  to  warm  himself  up  again. 

It  seemed  to  liini  now  that  he  was  being  guided  by 
fate.  He  then  became  confused  in  mind— dazed,  as  it 
were.  In  odd  vagary,  as  his  ice-raft  floated  on  down 
the  river,  he  peopled  the  darkness  about  him  with 
imaginary  foes,  and  "  squared  off"  at  them  pugnaci- 
ouslv.  His  blood  warming  with  this  exercise,  he  began 
delivering  in  grandiloquent  tones  the  address  which  he 
had  declaimed  at  school,  when  a  voice  from  the  dark- 
ness near  at  hand  brought  him  back  to  his  situation. 

'•  Mortimer ! " 

"Halloo!"  1)0  answered. 

"  Mortimer,  is  it  you  ? " 

"  Is  that  you,  father  ? "  cried  the  young  castaway, 
'•  have  you  got  a  boat  ? " 

"  Yes,"  replied  Mr.  Halleck  ;  "  but  we  have  been 
alarmed.     What  has  kept —  " 

"  Paddle  your  skiff  this  way,  father.  Here,  this  way; 
I'm  on  a  cake  of  ice. " 

"  On  a  cake  of  ice  ! "  cried  Mr,  Halleck.  "  I  knew 
you  "were  in  some  trouble.  What  has  happened?  I 
borrowed  Neighbor  Wescott's  boat,  and  was  going  to 
cross  over  to  see  if  you  were  at  Morley's  with  Pete, 
when  I  heard  your  voice." 

Mortimer  was  astonished  to  find  he  had  already 
drifted  so  far. 

"  How  much  longer  could  you  have  stood  it  ? "  Mr. 
Halleck  asked,  in  tones  that  trembled  a  little. 


FKONTIEK   SKETCHES.  63 

"Not  another  half-hour,"  Mortimer  declared,  and 
probably  he  was  ri^ht. 

Next  day  be  succeeded  in  finding  his  boat,  safely 
lodged  among  some  willows ;  but  the  beaver  was  miss- 
ing, having  probably  been  jarred  off  the  nest  on  the 
stub  by  the  ice-cake  striking  against  it. 

The  river  had  lowered  considerably,  and  Mortimer, 
while  searching  for  his  boat,  saw  numerous  ice-rafts 
moving  down  the  channel ;  yet  he  could  not  repress  a 
conviction  that  something  more  than  mere  good  fortune 
had  directed  the  ice-cake  to  touch  at  his  bleak  and 
comfortless  perch  in  the  nick  of  time  to  save  his  life. 


VI. 

THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  VALLEY. 

Among  the  earliest  settlers  on  the  "Wisconsin  river 
was  Robert  Wheaton — now  one  of  the  wealthiest 
farmers  of  the  State — who,  with  his  pretty  young 
wife,  Jennie,  came  up  into  the  Winnecon  Valley  to 
make  a  home  about  the  year  1850.  There  was 
this  difference  between  the  Wheatons  and  many  others 
of  the  pioneers  here  :  Robert  and  Jennie  settled  there 
to  stay,  while  too  many  of  the  "  old  Winneconers," 
yielding  to  temporary  discouragements,  drifted  away 
with  the  ever-moving  tide  of  Westward  migration. 

Robert,  like  all  "  old  settlers,"  greatly  delighted  to 
tell  of  the  hardships  of  those  early  times,  when  he  and 
Jennie  came  to  live  in  the  new  log-house  in  one  of  the 
Winnecon  "  pockets,"  or  side  valleys  between  the 
bluffs. 

One  midsummer  evening,  just  at  twilight,  Robert  sat 
milking  his  cow  in  the  little  yard  back  of  his  shed, 
when  someone  near  the  fence  surprised  him  with, — 

"  Good-e'en,  Meester  Weiiton !  Ha'  ye  sean  th' 
broout  baast  yit?  " 

Robert  knew  the  voice,  and  looking  up,  saw  "  Big 
Jim  "  Hodgson,  as  he  was  known,  leaning  his  elbow 
upon  the  fence.  Hodgson  was  an  Englishman,  with  a 
large  family,  and  in  person  an  enormous  man  of  six 
and  a  half  feet  in  height,  who  spoke  the  North  of  Eng- 
land dialect,  in  a  voice  as  rough  and  guttural  as  the 
rumbling    of    a    cart-wheel.     The    Winnecon  people 

61 


FKONTIEK   SKETCHES.  65 

among  whom  he  had  settled  had  nick-named  him  "  Big 
Jim." 

He  was  a  brave,  good-natured  man,  but  somewhat 
inclined  to  be  superstitious. 

"Hullo,  Hodgson !"  Robert  exclaimed.  "What 
brute  are  you  talking  about  ?    I  haven't  seen  any  one." 

Big  Jim  explained.  There  was  a  strong  flavor  of 
hobgoblin  belief  in  his  gruff,  deep  tones,  as  he  related 
how  a  strange  creature  had  been  seen  in  the  valley 
roads  and  along  the  cow-paths  during  the  past  week. 
One  of  the  Carter  girls  had  seen  it  up  on  the  "  bluff 
path,"  between  Cat  Rock  and  the  Twin  Oaks.  It 
was  a  large,  gvdy,  shaggy  creature,  which,  issuing  from 
the  brush,  had  followed  the  girl  as  she  drove  home  the 
cows.  She  was  naturally  much  terrified,  yet  she  dared 
not  run,  and  the  "^broout  baast  "  had  followed  her 
silently,  until  she  had  gone  past  the  Twin  Oaks,  down 
to  the  upper  end  of  Carter's  rye-patch. 

There  it  had  left  her  and  walked  off  into  the  woods, 
and  she  had  rushed  home  with  the  cows,  and  gone  to 
bed  in  a  high  fever. 

Continuing  his  account.  Big  Jim  related  how,  on  Sun- 
day evening,  the  thing  had  followed  the  Mulrony  boys 
down  through  the  gap  road. 

"  They  were  on  horse-back,"  he  said,  "  a-coomen'  doon 
on  a  spaiirkin'  veesit  to  Carter's ;  and  the  brout  baiist 
'ad  coom  oop  a-hint  their  'orses,  'n'  nigh  seabed  th' 
seensus  oot  o'  um." 

Nor  was  that  all,  for  last  evening,  just  at  dusk,  his 
own  little  girl.  May,  had  seen  it  cross  the  turnip-patch 
up  in  the  "  notch  "  on  the  side  of  the  bluff  above  the 
house.  It  went  across  the  patch  from  one  point  of 
timber  to  the  other  like  a  streak  of  gray  light,  seeming 


G6  FRONTIER   SKETCHES. 

not  to  touch  the  ground  with  its  feet,  and  "  hit  warn't 
uowt  loike  ony think  at  all  slio  'ad  e'er  seiin." 

"  Waiit  do  Muster  Weiiton  think  o'  that,  now  ? " 

The  question  had  in  its  tones  a  strong  touch  of  exul- 
tation, for  hadn't  E.obert  Wheaton  always  "  toorned 
up  's  noiise  at  onythink  at  all  as  was  onnaiiteral  ?  " 

Robert  laughed,  not  so  much  at  the  information,  as 
at  Hodgson's  tones.  He  soon  grew  sober  again,  how- 
ever, 

"  We  must  look  after  that  animal,  I  think,  Jim,"  he 
said.  "I'm  inclined  to  believe,  from  what  you  say  of 
the  beast  and  its  actions,  that  Ave've  got  a  panther 
sneaking  about  our  neighborhood." 

"Mought  beii,"  returned  Jim,  a  little  miffed ;  "but 
I'se  un  as  b'leiives  traiips'U  no  hoiild  un,  an'  bullut's'U 
no  hooi't  un,"  and  he  walked  off  toward  his  home  swing- 
ing a  heavy  club  as  he  went. 

"  Evidence  in  his  hand  against  the  belief  in  his  head," 
chuckled  Eobert,  who  vrent  in  with  his  pail  of  milk,  and 
told  Jennie  about  the  "  broout  baast." 

"  Some  stray  panther,  I  expect,"  he  said,  in  conclu- 
sion, "or  a  big  timber-wolf,  that's  prowling  about  after 
pigs  and  chickens." 

A  week  from  the  following  Sabbath  there  was 
"  preaching  "  at  the  new  log  school-house.  Rob  and 
Jennie  attended,  and  after  the  service  their  ears  were 
filled  with  excited  questions,  and  with  remarkable 
statements  about  the  "  broot  baste,"  as  the  strange 
creature  had  already  come  to  be  called,  this  name  being 
an  American  perversion  of  Big  Jim's  North  English 
tongue. 

Every  one  wanted  to  know  whether  Robert  had  yet 
seen  the  "  thing."     Not  a  few  affirmed  that  they  had 


FRONTIER   SKETCHES.  67 

seen  it — always  after  dark — and  it  bad  each  time  fol- 
lowed silently  a  little  way,  and  then,  as  they  drew  near 
houses  or  openings,  it  had  slunk  away  into  the  woods. 
For  a  fortnight  it  had  followed  some  one  nearly  every 
night.     Even  the  itinerant  preacher  grew  interested. 

''  Must  be  a  dangerous  creature  of  some  kind,  Robert," 
he  said,  addressing  Wheaton ;  "  a  wild  animal,  of  course, 
and  you  had  better  trap  it.'' 

ISTothing,  however,  could  convince  Big  Jim  that  the 
creature  was  not  an  uncanny  brute ;  and  old  Granny 
Bates,  who  was  born  before  the  Revolution,  declared 
her  belief  that  it  was  "  some  creatur'  bewitched," 

Robert  promised  to  try  his  hand  at  trapping  it,  and 
went  home.  In  less  than  a  week  he  had  seven  large 
double-spring  traps,  baited  and  carefully  set  at  different 
points  in  the  bluffs  where  the  strange  object  had  been 
seen. 

He  had  to  neglect  his  work  somewhat  in  order  to 
make  the  round  of  these  traps ;  and  as  they  were  not 
disturbed  during  the  whole  of  this  time,  the  affair 
proved  most  annoying  to  him.  At  last  he  grew  sceptical 
about  the  matter,  and  took  his  traps  home,  declaring 
that  he  "  wouldn't  trap  for  shadows  any  longer." 

*  Somebody,"  he  said  to  Jennie,  '*  has  started  a 
ridiculous  story  about  the  creature,  and  now  everybody 
that  sees  a  dog  come  out  into  the  road  after  dark  imag- 
ines, it's  the  '  broot  baste.'  I've  found  a  few  fresh  wolf- 
tracks,  but  there's  no  sign  of  any  strange  animal,  that 
I  can  see." 

But  tidings  of  the  "  broot  baste "  did  not  cease. 
Scarcely  a  week  passed  that  some  one  in  the  valley  or 
among  the  bluffs  did  not  have  a  fresh  story  to  relate  of 
the  oddly -behaving  creature.     It  was  often  seen  close 


68  FRONTIER   SKETCHES. 

to  houses,  at  night-fall,  but  generally  made  its  appear- 
ance to  women  and  children. 

As  the  creature  never  offered  to  molest  any  one,  and 
spared  the  pigs  and  chickens,  people  ceased  to  fear  it 
and  only  wondered  what  it  could  be. 

But  Robert  remained  sceptical  as  to  its  existence; 
and  the  matter  continued  to  be  a  mystery. 

Late  that  fall,  after  the  first  snow,  which  came  early, 
there  began  to  be  heard  strange  yelps  and  cries  nearly 
every  night  among  the  hills.  These  were  most 
"  unearthly  noises,','  the  people  said  who  heard  them. 
Eobert  only  laughed  at  these  reports.  ''  Wolves  always 
howl  during  the  first  cold  snap,"  he  said.' 

But  one  night  Jennie  and  he  were  awakened  by  what 
was,  in  very  truth,  a  most  frightful  yelping,  which  came 
from  the  bluff,  just  above  their  stable.  They  listened 
awhile;  and  Robert  was  compelled  to  admit  that  he 
"  never  had  heard  such  an  outcry  as  that  from  any  liv- 
ing creature  before." 

The  cries  seemed  to  be  half-way  between  the  quick 
yelps  of  a  frightened  dog  and  the  prolonged  howl  of  a 
timber-wolf,  only  more  wild,  weird  and  mournful  than 
either  of  those  sounds. 

Robert  took  his  gun  and  went  out ;  but  the  howling 
stopped  immediately,  and  it  was  so  dark  that  he  could 
see  nothing. 

The  next  night  the  creature  came  and  howled  in  the 
same  place,  and  earlier  in  the  evening,  but  it  became 
quiet  the  moment  Robert  stepped  outside  the  house. 
Wheaton's  curiosity  was  fair]}'-  aroused. 

He  tried  to  find  its  tracks  the  next  morning ;  but  the 
snow  had  now  nearly  all  melted  and  the  ground  was 
frozen  again.     He  said  nothing  to  his  neighbors,  but 


FRONTIER   SKETCHES.  69 

determined  to  outwit  and  kill  the  beast,  in  some  way. 
But  though  he  again  set  his  traps  and  baited  them 
invitingly  with  fresh  meat,  night  after  night  passed 
and  the  howling  increased,  yet  the  traps  remained 
empty. 

Then  he  tried  hiding  out  in  the  brush,  lying  in  wait 
with  his  gun,  but  the  animal  did  not  appear,  and  that 
stratagem  failed. 

But  one  night,  early  in  December,  the  mystery  was 
explained  in  the  most  unexpected  manner.  "  Young 
John,"  a  Winnebago  trapper,  solved  it  for  them. 

Young  John,  as  he  was  called  by  the  white  settlers, 
was  an  Indian  who,  for  some  offense,  was  under  the 
ban  of  his  tribe,  and  who  subsisted  by  trapping  and 
hunting  along  the  Wisconsin. 

He  could  speak  broken  English,  and  he  evinced  a 
liking  for  Robert  Wheaton,  w^ho  had  taught  him  many 
useful  things.  Hence  he  often  came  to  Robert's  place 
and  slept  on  the  house-flooE  at  night.  Generally  he  ate 
supper  w^ith  Robert  and  Jennie,  but  he  always  left 
before  the  latter  awoke  in  the  morning. 

One  evening,  about  three  weeks  after  they  had  been 
so  disturbed  by  the  bowlings  of  the  "  broot  baste," 
Young  John  came  to  the  house,  and,  as  usual,  took 
supper  with  them,  having  brought  his  blanket,  pre- 
pared to  sleep  on  the  floor. 

After  supper,  when  Robert  had  finished  his  "  chores," 
he  sat  by  the  fire  with  Young  John,  as  they  had  been 
in  the  habit  of  doing,  telling  stories,  when  on  a  sudden 
the  "  broot  baste  "  set  up  a  series  of  its  wild^  mournful 
cries,  in  the  same  place  on  the  bluff  above  the  stable. 

They  had  not  heard  it  there  for  several  nights;  and 


70  FKONTIER   SKKTCHK8. 

Robert  had  not  vet  mentioned  the  creature's  doino^s  to 
Young  John. 

On  hearing  the  sounds,  the  Indian  started  and  lis- 
tened for  a  moment  most  intently,  whiie  Robert  and 
Jennie  exchanged  meaning  glances.  But  Young  John's 
next  move  surprised  them ;  for  after  listening  for  a 
moment  or  two,  the  Indian  gave  a  most  expressive  gut- 
tural grunt  of  mixed  astonishment  a]|^  satisfaction, 
then  abruptly  strode  to  the  door,  threw  it  open,  and 
placing  two  fingers  between  his  lips,  blew  a  shrill,  ear- 
piercing  whistle. 

The  bowlings  stopped. 

lie  repeated  the  whistle,  then  stalked  out  into  the 
darkness.  Robert  and  Jennie  followed  him  to  the 
door,  and  peered  out  curiousl3\ 

It  was  light  enough  for  them  to  see  the  Indian,  as 
he  stopped  near  the  corner  of  the  stable  f^lnd  then 
they  saw  a  strange,  shadow}''  creature  come  bounding 
down  the  hill  and  throw  itself  on  the  ground,  with  piti- 
ful whines,  at  Young  John's  feet. 

He  stooped  over  and  seemed  to  be  petting  it^  and 
talking  to  it  in  the  "Winnebago  tongue,  for  a  fetv  sec- 
onds. Then  he  came  back  to  the  house ;  and  the  crea- 
ture followed  whining  and  leaping  at  his  heels,  until  he 
had  nearly  reached  the  door,  when  it  slunk  quickly 
away  out  of  sight  again. 

Robert  and  his  wife  were  quite  prepared  for  Young 
John's  announcement,  as  he  came  up  to  the  door. 

"Me  dog,"  he  said.  "  Me  lose  um  las'  spling  clossin' 
liver.     Him  heap  'fraid  white  man's." 

He  made  no  further  comment,  and  his  hearers  said 
nothing.  They  remembered  perfectly  well  the  shy, 
large,  gaunt,  grizzled  wolf-dog  which  had  always  been 


fBONTIER  SKETCHES.  71 

with  him,  and  had  always  refused  to  come  near  the 
house,  on  his  previous  visits. 

Jennie  at  once  offered  the  Indian  some  victuals,  to 
feed  the  animal ,  but  Young  John  said  :  "  No,  him  eat 
plenty  labbit." 

The  Wheatons  had  a  quiet  laugli  over  the  solution 
of  the  strange  affair.  Next  morning  the  Indian  and 
his  dog  had  disappeared. 

The  "broot  baste"  and  its  antics  were  from  that 
time  forth  things  of  the  past ;  and  the  neighbors 
enjoyed  th©  explanation  as  much  as  did  Eobert  and 
Jennie. 


YII. 

FOLLOWED. 

The  most  desperate  and  lawless  men  to  be  found  in 
the  "West — I  speak  from  twenty  years'  experience  on 
the  plains — are  the  gamblers,  confidence  men  and 
robbers  wlio  follow  the  "end  of  track"  when  a  rail- 
way is  pushing  through  new  and  unsettled  territory. 

At  every  side-track  a  new  town  springs  into  exist- 
ence, so  suddenly  as  to  suggest  the  Western  expression 
"  dropped  there  by  a  cyclone."  At  each  of  these  new 
communities  the  first-comers  are  usually  men  of  the 
kind  I  have  mentioned. 

Along  the  road-bed,  wherever  a  siding  is  to  be  laid, 
a  dozen  or  more  big  tents,  respectively  labeled 
"  Saloon,"  "  Dance  House,"  sometimes  very  appropri- 
ately, "Satan's  Hole"  or  the  "Devil's  Den,"  are 
always  found  set  up  in  advance  of  the  arrival  of  the 
track-layers. 

A  certain  harvest  awaits  the  owners  of  these  grog- 
geries,  as  the  "railroader,"  of  a  certain  class,  takes 
his  "time  "from  his  foreman  at  frequent  intervals,  in 
order  that  he  may  cash  his  "time  check"  at  the 
nearest  saloon  and  gambling-place. 

lie  quickly  squanders  the  proceeds  of  his  check  in 
drink  and  play,  or  is  robbed  of  them,  lies  about  in  a 
stupid  condition  for  a  day  or  two,  and  then  goes  to- 
work  again,  penniless. 

Such  a  person  accepts  all  the  evils  of  this  mode  of 
life  with  a  philosophy  that  would  be  commendable  if 
shown  under  adversity  of  a  different  sort.     A  shirt, 

72 


FRONTIER  SKETCHES.  t3 

pantaloons,  shoes,  and  a  slouch  hat  usually  comprise 
the  whole  of  his  possessions,  and  so  long  as  he  can 
get  the  means  to  satisfy  a  periodic  appetite  for 
drunken  excitement,  he  seems  to  be  contented  with 
his  lot. 

This  description  of  a  large  class  of  railroad  laborers, 
it  should  be  distinctly  noted,  does  not  apply  to  the 
many  sober,  steady  fellows  who  save  the  large  wages 
they  get,  and  often  settle  and  become  prosperous 
citizens  in  the  country  they  have  helped  to  open  to 
civilization. 

It  is  upon  the  earnings  of  floating,  dissolute  wage- 
workers  of  the  track  and  grade  that  the  gambler, 
whisky  seller  and  assassin  thrive,  and,  to  secure  their 
plunder,  they  follow  the  progress  of  a  new  railway  like 
vultures  in  search  of  prey. 

The  day-laborer  upon  these  pioneer  roads  is  not  the 
only  victim  of  the  robber  and  sharper.  It  is  unsafe  for 
any  man  who  visits  one  of  their  mushroom  towns  to 
let  the  fact  be  known  that  he  has  a  considerable  sum 
of  money  in  his  possession. 

Yet  men  who  know  the  nature  of  the  dangers  about 
them  sometimes  neglect  to  take  proper  precaution  to 
insure  the  safety  of  money  in  their  charge,  and  thus 
the  writer  allowed  himself  to  be  caught,  two  years 
ago,  in  a  "  snap  "  that  came  near  ending  his  career,  and 
that  taught  him  a  lesson  in  caution  which  he  hopes 
will  never  again  be  needed,  at  least  by  him. 

I  was  acting  as  paymaster  and  chief  commissary 
clerk  for  a  firm  of  grade  contractors  upon  the  North- 
western road,  which  was  then  pushing  through  north- 
ern Nebraska  into  the  adjacent  territory  of  Wyoming. 

"We  were  doing  some  heavy  grading  and  rock  work, 


74  FRONTIER  SKETCHES. 

and  with  a  large  force  were  pushing  the  work  day  and 
night  in  order  to  get  out  of  the  way  of  the  track, 
which  had  then  advanced  to  a  point  within  a  day's  ride 
of  us. 

We  had  let  pay-day  shp  by  without  paying  the  men, 
and  hoped  to  satisfy  them  by  the  issue  of  time-checks 
until  the  track  should  overtake  us,  and  our  money 
could  come  to  us  with  little  risk  on  the  construction 
train.  But,  three  or  four  days  after  "  paying-ofi  "  time, 
some  of  the  men  began  to  grow  suspicious  and  to 
grumble,  and  threatened  to  quit  work  until  their  checks 
were  cashed.  They  were  afraid  we  might  somehow 
slip  up  on  them  and  they  wouldn't  get  their  money. 

As  we  were  in  desperate  need  of  every  available 
hand,  it  was  necessary  that  the  men  should  besatisfied. 
So  it  was  determined  that  I  should  go  to  Chadron,  our 
supply  base  and  banking  point,  and  bring  up  enough 
money  to  pay  the  men  their  last  month's  wages,  which 
amounted  to  about  four  thousand  dollars. 

I  decided  to  go  alone.  I  set  out  that  night  on 
horseback,  and  I  reached  the  "  end  of  track  "  at  Craw- 
ford siding  the  next  morning  in  time  to  leave  my  horse 
at  a  neighboring  ranch  corral  and  get  aboard  a  supply 
train  which  had  just  unloaded  and  was  now  going 
back. 

At  Chadron  the  supply  store  of  the  main  contractor, 
a  huge,  roughly  built  shed,  stood  at  a  side  traxk  about 
forty  rods  from  the  main  street  of  the  town.  Here  I 
was  accustomed  to  order  supplies  and  get  drafts  for 
money  from  the  book-keeper  from  time  to  time. 

That  morning,  after  finishing  my  business  with  the 
supply  department,  I  went  to  the  book-keeper  to  pro- 
cure a  draft.     A  crowd  of  railroad  laborers  were  wait- 


FKONTIER   SKETCHES.  76 

ing  before  his  window  to  get  their  time-checks  cashed, 
or  secure  passes  to  go  up  or  down  the  road.  I  noticed 
that  two  of  these  men  were  better  dressed  than  the 
others,  but  thought  nothing  of  the  circumstance. 

I  awaited  my  turn  at  the  window,  and  handed  the 
book-keeper  a  shp  of  paper  on  which  was  written, 
"  Four  thousand  three  hundred  and  forty-seven  dol- 
lars and  fifty  cents.  Pay  Roll — Eodney  and  Curtis." 
He  made  me  a  draft  for  the  amount  named,  folded  it 
carelessly,  thrust  it  through  the  window,  and  took  the 
receipt  which  I  had  just  written,  and  then  turned  to 
the  next  man. 

As  I  left  the  store  I  passed  the  two  men  whom  I 
had  noticed  at  the  window,  and  it  struck  me,  upon  a 
more  attentive  view,  that  they  were  rather  sharpers 
than  workingmen,  although  I  had  seen  them  cash  two 
time-checks  and  get  passes  for  some  point  up  the  road. 
The  construction  train  did  not  leave  until  three  o'clock 
that  afternoon,  and  I  lounged  upon  the  shady  stoop  of 
the  Chadron  House  watching  the  passers-by  and  chat- 
ting with  the  landlord,  who  was  an  old  acquaintance 
of  mine  when  I  lived  in  the  East.  I  had  a  pleasant 
dinner  with  him,  and  after  the  meal  was  finished,  I 
walked  across  the  square  to  Lake  &  Haley's  bank, 
at  the  corner  of  the  two  principal  streets  of  the  town, 
where  I  cashed  the  draft. 

The  bills  which  I  received  I  stuffed  into  various  side 
pockets  of  my  clothes,  and  stowed  a  sack  of  silver 
change  into  a  small  leather  "  grip  "  which  I  carried  in 
my  hand. 

I  heard  a  locomotive  whistle  and,  turning,  walked 
quickly  out  of  the  bank.  As  I  reached  the  sidewalk 
I  was  startled  to  see  the  two  men   who  had   before 


76  FRONTIER   SKETCHES 

attracted  my  notice  step  rather  hastily  away  from  the 
sidewalk  in  front  of  the  bank  windows  and  walk  across 
the  street. 

I  was  satisfied  that  they  had  watched  me  as  I  cashed 
my  draft.  My  suspicions  were  thoroughly  aroused  by 
this  circumstance,  and  when,  an  hour  later,  I  stepped 
into  the  caboose  of  the  construction  train,  and  discov- 
ered the  men  lounging  upon  two  cracker  barrels  smok- 
ing their  pipes,  it  did  not  need  their  evident  avoidance 
of  the  direct  stare  I  gave  them,  the  moment  I  entered, 
to  convince  me  that  they  were  after  me. 

I  had  heartily  berated  myself  for  not  havmg  exer- 
cised greater  caution  while  at  Chadron.  I  should  have 
waited  until  I  could  see  the  book-keeper  alone  before 
I  obtained  my  check,  and  should  have  had  my  cash 
made  up  by  the  clerk  at  the  bank,  and  brought  to  my 
room  at  the  hotel,  as  might  easily  have  been  done. 
But  it  is  easy  enough,  after  you  have  done  a  foolish 
thing,  to  think  how  much  better  you  might  have  man- 
aged it. 

"While  I  sat  upon  one  of  the  hand  benches  in  the 
caboose,  with  my  "grip"  lying  beneath  the  seat,  I 
considered  how  I  should  dodge  the  two  fellows  at 
Crawford.  There  was  no  danger  that  I  should  be  robbed 
on  the  train,  as  there  were  at  least  twenty  passengers 
on  board.  Presently  one  of  the  men  sauntered  up  to 
my  seat,  sat  down  by  me,  and  began  to  talk. 

"See?"  said  he;  "you'r  with  Rodney  an'  Curtis, 
aint  yeh,  one  o'  their  foremen  ? " 

I  answered  carelessly  that  I  was  in  their  employ. 

"  Paul  'n'  I's  goin'  up  the  road  lookin'  fur  a  rock  job. 
We're  strikers.     Could  ye  hire  us,  d'ye  think  ? " 

"  Certainly,"  said  I ;  "we  need  more  badly,  especially 


FKONTIER   SKETCHES.  77 

good  strikers.  Will  give  you  two  dollars  a  day,  and 
you  can  work  a  part  of  the  night  shift,  if  you  like." 

Then,  as  unconcernedly  as  I  could,  I  went  on  to  tell 
him  about  our  work,  and  directed  him  how  to  find  our 
headquarters.  I  told  him  I  should  leave  Crawford  after 
breakfast  the  next  morning  on  horseback,  and  that  he 
and  his  partner  could  undoubtedly  find  a  freight  wagon 
there  on  which  to  take  passage  for  our  camp. 

After  some  further  conversation  with  the  man — a 
young-looking,  wiry,  dark-faced  fellow — he  went  over 
to  talk  to  his  "  pard,"  and  no  doubt  they  congratulated 
themselves  on  his  success  in  throwing  me  off  my 
guard. 

On  my  arrival  at  Crawford  I  went  to  the  company's 
tent,  where  food  and  other  supplies  brought  on  the 
construction  trains  were  stored  until  they  could  be 
shipped  forward  by  wagon  to  points  where  our  forces 
w^ere  at  work.  There  I  explained  the  situation  to  the 
two  clerks  in  charge  of  the  tent,  and  said  that  I  wished 
to  spend  the  night  with  them. 

I  was  armed  with  a  good  "  six-shooter,"  and  the 
clerks  had  each  a  light  Winchester  rifle.  They  said  we 
could  guard  the  money  without  trouble  that  night,  and 
it  was  arranged  that  I  should  start  for  the  grading 
camp  at  three  o'clock  the  next  morning.  By  leaving 
at  so  early  an  hour  I  believed  that  I  could  baffle  pur- 
suit by  any  robbers  who  might  have  conspired  to  fol- 
low me. 

My  pony^ — a  tough  Oregon  half-breed — was  picketed 
that  evening  behind  the  supply  tent,  and  the  clerks  and 
I  took  turns  in  sitting  on  guard  at  the  opening  of  the 
tent.  I  saw  nothing  of  the  two  "strikers"  after  we 
left  the  train,  and  no  suspicious  person  approached  the 


78  FRONTIER   SKETCHES. 

tent  that  night.  I  shifted  the  silver  from  my  "  grip  " 
into  a  pair  of  saddle-bags,  and,  armed  with  my  revolver 
and  a  borrowed  Winchester  rifle  and  a  belt  of  cart- 
ridges, mounted  my  pony  at  three  o'clock  the  next 
morning  to  complete  my  journey. 

Day  was  just  breaking  when  I  came  to  the  fork  of 
the  trail  at  Fort  Robinson,  two  miles  out  from  Crawford 
siding.  Both  routes  led  to  the  grading  camp, — one 
trail  lay  through  White  River  canon  and  the  other  led 
to  my  destination  by  way  of  Driftwood.  One  of  these 
routes  I  must  take,  and  as  the  men  who  were  "shadow- 
ing" me  believed  that  I  would  proceed  by  way  of 
Driftwood  I  chose  the  White  River  caiion  route,  a 
rough,  new  trail  that  for  seventeen  miles  led  through  a 
tumbled,  rocky  gorge  or  caiion  in  the  bottom  of  which 
rippled  merrily  the  little  streamlet  that  is  the  beginning 
of  the  White  River. 

I  urged  my  pony  forward  at  a  good  pace  until,  after 
sunrise,  I  passed  a  camp  of  freighters  who  were  prepar- 
ing their  breakfast,  and  later  met  several  wagons  on 
the  move,  which  relieved  the  loneliness  of  my  ride  and 
caused  me  to  feel  more  secure.  As  the  morning  was 
hot  and  oppressive  I  now  proceeded  more  slowly. 

About  half  an  hour  after  meeting  the  freighters  I 
halted  at  one  of  the  numerous  creek  crossings,  and  dis- 
mounted to  drink  and  to  eat  a  part  of  the  lunch  of 
crackers  and  dried  beef  which  I  had  brought  from  the 
commissary  tent.  As  I  had  no  cup  I  stretched  myself 
out  upon  the  rocks  at  the  edge  of  the  current,  and 
buried  my  nose  in  the  cool  water  of  the  spring-fed 
stream. 

As  I  lay  drinking,  with  my  head  just  above  the  water, 
a  distant  sound  of  horses'  hoofs  struck  on  my  ear.    I 


FRONTIER   SKETCHES.  79 

ceased  to  drink,  listened  intently,  and  soon  heard  dis- 
tinctly tlie  noise  of  horsemen  coming  rapidly  up  the 
canon. 

I  sprang  to  my  feet  in  a^arm.  My  first  impulse  was 
to  mount  my  pony  and  apply  the  spurs,  but  as  his  gait, 
a  racking  gallop,  was  a  very  slow  one,  I  came  to  the 
sudden  conclusion  to  dodge  into  the  brush  and  let  the 
horsemen,  whoever  they  were,  go  by.  There  were  a 
few  box  alder-trees  and  several  clusters  of  plum-bush 
close  under  the  rocks  on  the  right.  I  grasped  the 
bronco's  rein  and  led  him  in  behind  the  thickets  of 
thorn  and  tied  him. 

I  had  little  time  to  think  or  act  before  the  horsemen 
came  up  at  a  gallop ;  I  peered  through  the  leaves  as  they 
rattled  on,  and  discovered  that  there  were  six  riders 
and  that  the  two  strikers  were  in  the  lead.  They 
passed  my  hiding-place  without  an  apparent  suspicion 
that  I  was  concealed  there,  and,  though  still  much 
alarmed,  I  was  congratulating  myself  that  I  had  out- 
witted them  when,  just  as  they  rode  into  the  water,  my 
pony  lifted  up  his  head  and  uttered  a  shrill,  inquiring 
whinny. 

The  party  instantly  halted.  Every  rider  turned  his 
face  eagerly  in  my  direction,  and  a  half  dozen  rifles  and 
revolvers  were  jerked  into  readiness  for  action.  My 
pony  whinnied  again  before  I  could  get  a  grip  upon  his 
muzzle,  and  I  felt  that  unless  some  unexpectedly  fortu- 
nate circumstance  intervened  I  should  lose  the  money 
and  probably  my  life.  The  horsemen  were  determined, 
villainous-looking  men,  and  as  I  glanced  about  I  saw 
they  had  a  great  advantage  over  me.  The  scattered 
patches  of  pine  scrub  on  tlie  steep  bare  sides  of  the 
gorge  offered  me  but  little  shelter  for  a  retreat,  and  the 


80 


FRONTIER   SKETCHES. 


"  I  thrust  the  Winchester  through  the  tops  of  a  plum  bush  and 
fired." — Page  81. 


FRONTIER  SKETCHES.  81 

bushes  behind  which  I  stood  were  but  a  slight  protection 
against  heavy  bullets.  At  the  second  whinny  of  my 
horse  the  men  dismounted  and  stood  behind  their 
animals. 

"He's  in  there,  sure,"  I  heard  one  of  them  say. 
"  Spread  out,  boj^s,  an'  let's  surround  them  bushes." 

Without  waiting  to  hear  any  more  I  thrust  the  Win- 
chester through  the  tops  of  a  plum  bush  and  fired  at 
their  nearest  horse,  aiming  at  its  body  back  of  tlie 
shoulder.  The  animal  went  down  with  a  groan,  and 
the  man  behind  it  sprang  back  with  a  fierce  oath. 

My  only  hope  now  was  in  swift  action  and  certain 
aim.  A  quick  motion  of  the  lever  re-loaded  and  cocked 
my  Winchester,  and  almost  before  the  horse  had  fallen 
to  the  ground  I  had  aimed  and  fired  at  the  fellow  as  he 
turned  to  run  for  cover. 

He  fell,  but  got  up  and  ran  again.  Shifting  my  aim, 
I  opened  a  rapid  fire  upon  the  other  horses  and  men. 
The  robbers  returned  a  few  hasty  and  ineffectual  shots, 
and  then  scattered  in  flight.  When  I  had  fired  the 
seventeen  shots,  which  emptied  my  repeating  rifle,  three 
horses  lay  on  the  borders  of  the  canon  at  various  dis- 
tances away,  and  one  man  with  a  broken  leg  was 
dragging  himself  toward  the  shelter  of  the  creek  bank. 
His  companions  had  fled  down  the  caiion,  two  on  foot 
and  the  others  on  horseback.  Three  or  four  of 
their  shots  had  struck  in  the  brush  about  me,  but  none 
had  hit  me. 

The  sudden,  fierce  determination  which  had  seized 
upon  me,  and  the  swift,  effective  firing  which  followed, 
were  as  much  a  surprise  to  myself  as  they  could  have 
been  to  the  "road  agents,"  who  no  doubt  believed  there 
was  more  than  one  shooter  behind  the  bushes  that 


82  FRONTIER   SKETCHES. 

sheltered  me.  I  dared  not  stop  to  look  after  the 
wounded  man,  who  undoubtedly  would  have  fired  at 
me  if  I  had  approached  him.  Mounting  my  pony  and 
keeping  as  much  as  possible  under  cover  of  bushes,  1 
rode  my  animal  at  his  best  speed  up  the  canon. 

About  five  miles  from  the  scene  of  the  shooting  I 
came  upon  a  grader's  camp,  and  sent  some  of  the  men 
to  look  after  the  wounded  robber  and  to  secure  the 
saddles  of  the  fallen  horses. 

I  afterwards  learned  that  they  got  the  saddles  but 
could  find  nothing  of  the  man. 

H.    H.   CUMMACK. 


^^ 


VIII. 

OLAP  HELGERSON'S  PAY. 

There  were  rough  times  occasionally  on  the  street  of 
Jiratovvn  when  big  Olaf  Helgerson  and  his  friends 
came  in  from  the  Upper  Ussawau  Lake  and  made 
themselves  drunk  with  alcohol  and  water — not  that  the 
water  stirred  their  blood  or  fired .  their  brains.  The 
Norse  settlers  of  James  county  generally  were  of  that 
sober  and  industrious  sort  who  have  borne  such  a  large 
share  in  breaking  up  the  great  prairies  of  the  North- 
west and  subduing  this  big  wilderness.  But  among 
this  people,  as  among  all  others,  there  is  more  or  less 
"  bad  blood,-'  only  in  this  case  it  showed  itself  boldly 
and  badly  in  the  carousings  of  Olaf  and  Gulik  Helger- 
son and  their  neighbors,  the  Larsens  and  Joraegs. 

One  blustering  day  in  December  some  dozen  years 
ago  they  came,  a  half-dozen  of  them,  to  town,  and 
began  drinking  and  soon  grew  riotous.  Up  and  down 
the  single  street  of  Jimtown  they  caroused  from  one 
saloon  to  another,  pouring  down  fiery  alcohol  until  their 
faces  flamed  and  their  brains  reeled,  and  they  swaggered 
along  the  sidewalk  kicking  and  cuffing  at  each  other 
and  threatening  everyone  else  who  had  the  hardihood 
to  meet  them. 

The  town  people  kept  indoors,  and  no  one  thought  of 
making  an  arrest.  The  town  depended  for  its  main 
support  upon  the  Norse  trade,  and  so  a  Norse  frolic  was 
not  to  be  interfered  with. 

That  afternoon,  though,  matters  "came  to  a  head," 
and  the  men  came  out  of  their  stores  and  shops  and 

83 


84  FRONTIER   SKETCHES. 

overawed  the  rough  Norwegians,  drunk  as  they  were. 
It  happened  in  this  wise:  Kneut  Halvorsen,  a  Norse 
lad  living  at  the  Lower  Ussawau  Lake,  came  in  that 
afternoon  to  get  mail  and  some  medicine  for  his 
mother,  who  was  ailing  with  rheumatism. 

The  post-office  was  kept  at  "  Iliff' s"  drug  store,  and 
as  Kneut  stepped  in  there  were  a  number  of  loafers 
seated  about  the  h\p'  box-stove  listeninajtooneof  '*  Old 
Iliff 's  "  many  stories.  The  old  man  paused  in  his  nar- 
rations and  spoke  to  Kneut. 

"Kneut,"  said  he,  "Helgerson  and  his  crowd,  I 
s'pose  jT^ou  know,  are  in  town  t'day,  but  mebby  ye 
didn't  know  that  they're  drunk  as  loons  and  knockin' 
everybody  off  the  walks  ?  Better  git  yer  mail  'n'  go 
right  home." 

"  Faal,"  said  Kneut,"  I  ton't  alfays  pe  koin  to  run  afay 
fou  Olaf  Helgerson.  I  kot  me  yust  so  koot  a  ride  to 
keep  een  te  town  uss  he  haf. 

"  Wall,"  replied  the  old  man,  "  I  was  only  givin'  ye 
fair  warnin' ; "  and  he  resumed  his  story.  But  his  hear- 
ers' interest  flagged,  in  view  of  Kneut's  combative 
spirit,  and  while  Tom  Iliff,  Jr.,  was  "  putting  up  "  a 
prescription  for  Mrs.  Halvorsen's  rheumatism  they 
watched  the  3'oung  Norwegian  curiously. 

Presently  Kneut  turned  from  his  purchases  and  left 
the  store. 

"  There'll  be  a  fight,  sure,"  said  one  of  the  loungers ; 
and  he  went  to  one  of  the  front  windows  and  scratched 
the  frost  from  a  pane  that  he  might  look  out  upon  the 
street. 

The  quarrel  of  Helgerson  with  the  Halvorsens  had 
long  since  become  common  stock  in  Jimtown's  affairs 
of  local  interest,  and  dated  back  to  the  first  Norse  set- 


FRONTIER   SKETCHES.  85 

tlement  of  James  county,  when  Kneut  and  Gus  Hal- 
vorsen  were  lads.  It  came  about  by  the  death  of  widow 
Halvorsen's  brother,  Eric  Brakstead,  who  owed  Olaf 
Helgerson  for  a  yoke  of  oxen.  Eric's  claim  joined  that 
of  his  sister,  and  they  lived  together  and  helped  each 
other  in  improving  their  new  land.  Kneut  and  Gus 
were  old  enough  to  drive  teams,  and  the  widow  had  two 
yoke  of  oxen  of  her  own,  their  interests  being  kept  sep- 
arate, although  they  worked  often  together.  In  the 
spring  Eric  had  bought  a  yoke  of  steers  of  Olaf  Hel- 
gerson, giving  a  note  due  in  six  months,  when  he 
expected  his  wheat  harvest  would  enable  him  to  pay  it. 

Bad  luck  followed.  In  June  one  of  the  steers  was 
struck  by  lightning,  grasshoppers  came  and  devoured 
the  growing  wheat,  and  that  same  autumn  poor  Eric 
was  taken  with  typhoid  fever  and  died,  leaving  his 
claim  to  be  immediately  jumped  by  the  first  land-seeker. 
Helgerson  went  to  the  widow  with  Eric's  note  and 
demanded  payment  when  it  came  due.  She  informed 
her  neighbor  that  her  poor  brother  had  died  owing  her 
money,  and  that  it  would  be  impossible  for  her  to  pay 
his  other  debts  ;  but  she  told  him  there  was  the  other 
ox  left,  which,  of  course,  she  should  expect  him  to  take. 

Erio  went  away  in  a  great  rage  and  immediately 
brought  suit  against  her.  The  jury,  of  course,  returned 
him  his  ox,  but  gave  her  the  verdict.  From  that  time 
on  Olaf  Helgerson,  a  wild,  rough,  passionate  fellow, 
spared  no  pains  to  vent  his  hatred  in  all  ways  that  he 
dared  against  the  widow  and  her  boys. 

He  often  threatened  Kneut  and  Gus  with  terrible 
threshings,  but  up  till  this  December  day  he  had  never 
touched  either  of  them.  The  boys  often  met  their 
belligerent  neighbor  upon  the  road,  at  the  Lutheran 


8G  FRONTIER   SKETCHES. 

church  between  the  hikes,  or  at  other  Norse  gatherings. 
However,  they  had  for  several  years  carefully  avoided 
going  to  town  when  they  knew  that  Olaf  would  be 
there,  and  as  the  road  from  Upper  Ussawau  to  Jimtown 
ran  directly  past  their  door  they  generally  knew  when 
he  went  or  returned.  Indeed,  they  were  very  likely  to 
know  when  he  came  home,  for  he  was  nearly  always 
"  in  liquor  "  and  would  shout  and  curse  at  them  or  at 
the  house  as  he  rode  by. 

But  Kneut  had  grown  large  and  strong  as  a  man,  and 
he'  had  heard  Olafs  threats  so  often  that  they  had 
become  tame;  in  fact,  he  had  never  been  afraid  of 
Helgerson,  but,  knowing  the  latter's  habit  of  drunken 
brawling  when  in  town,  in  keeping  away  he  had  acted 
prudently  and  in  accord  with  his  mother's  wishes. 
Then,  too,  Olaf,  who  was  a  natural  leader,  had  drawn  a 
rough  crowd  around  him  who  generally  shared  his 
drunken  bouts  and  also  his  quarrels. 

Kneut  was  of  a  peaceable  disposition,  a  hard-working 
and  honest  lad,  who  desired  no  quarrel  with  any  one. 
But  this  day  as  he  stepped  out  of  "Iliflf's  "  Olaf  Helger- 
son was  coming  down  the  opposite  side  of  the  street, 
boisterously  drunk  and  aggressive.  He  saw  Kneut  and 
instantly  started  across,  wading  in  the  snow,  wildly 
swinging  his  arms  and  shouting  all  sorts  of  threats. 
Gulik,  Olafs  brother,  Ole  Larsen,  and  Snell  Joraeg 
followed. 

At  sight  of  them  and  at  the  word  "  coward,"  which 
they  shouted  at  him,  Kneut's  young  blood  boiled. 
Regardless  of  consequences  he  stepped  down  from  the 
sidewalk  and  threw  off  his  big  knit  scarf,  his  overcoat, 
and  sheep-skin  mittens,  and  with  clinched  hands  awaited 
them. 


FRONTIER   SKETCHES.  -  87 

"  Will  you  pay  me  seventy-five  dollars  ? "  shouted  the 
drunken  Olaf,  as  he  came  up ;  he  spoke  in  the  Norse 
tongue,  and  flourished  his  big  fists  at  Kneut's  face  by 
way  of  emphasizing  the  demand. 

"  No,"  replied  Kneut ;  and,  fiercely  clinching,  the  two 
whirled  round  and  round,  wrestling  and  jerking  each 
other  about  in  the  snow. 

Kneut  was  strong  and  sober,  and,  being  a  good 
wrestler,  as  soon  as  he  "  got  his  head "  gave  Olaf  a 
sudden  trip  and  flung  the  tipsy  fellow  headlong  in  the 
snow  and  then  sprang  upon  him.  Then,  I  suspect,  had 
it  not  been  for  his  brother,  with  Ole  and  Snell,  all  too 
brutally  tipsy  to  think  of  fair  play,  Olaf  Helgerson 
would  have  received  a  sound  hammering  from  Kneut's 
tough  knuckles.  But  these  three  now  pounced  upon 
Kneut,  and,  seizing  him  by  the  arms  and  legs,  tore  him 
away  from  Olaf  and  began  dragging  him  along  the 
street.  Olaf  staggered  to  his  feet  and  came  after  them, 
swearing  loudly  at  Kneut  and  threatening  dire  venire- 
ance. 

But  the  man  at  Iliff's  window,  and  a  number  of 
others  at  various  points  on  the  street,  .had  seen  the 
scuffle,  and  by  that  magic  which  draws  people  so  quickly 
together  at  exciting  scenes,  a  crowd  gathered  and  at- 
tacked Kneut's  tormentors,  wrenching  them  away  and 
driving  them  from  him.  The  plucky  lad  was  bruised 
severely  in  many  places,  where  Olaf  had  brutally  kicked 
him,  but  the  townsmen  were  roughly  sympathetic,  a 
number  of  them  insisting,  in  spite  of  his  declaration  that 
he  "fan't  mooch  hoorted,"on  taking  him  into  "Iliff's" 
to  have  his  hurts  examined,  and,  if  need  be,  dressed. 
Others  hunted  up  the  constable  and  assisted  the  officer 


88  FRONTIER   SKETCHES. 

to  arrest  the  four  drunken  fellows  and  lock  them  in  an 
old  coal-bin,  which  had  been  fitted  up  as  a  "  calaboose." 

Kneut's  bruises  were  only  black  and  blue  spots  on 
his  leirs  and  one  arm,  and  after  Tom  Iliff  had  rubbed 
them  Avell  with  a  patent  liniment  he  went  out,  got  on 
his  horse,  and  set  out  for  home. 

On  the  road  he  had  time  to  think  coolly — very  coolly, 
if  the  weather  were  to  be  taken  into  consideration — and 
in  spite  of  the  indignities  he  had  received,  he  began  to 
regret  that  he  had  not  walked  rapidly  off,  as  he  might 
have  done,  and  get  out  of  the  way  of  Olaf. 

"  1  had  no  business  fighting  with  drunjcen  brutes  like 
the  Helffersons  and  those  other  fellows,"  he  thought, 
"  and  it  will  make  mother  feel  badly." 

But  before  reaching  home  he  had  something  else  to 
think  of ;  the  wind  suddenly  increased  to  a  gale,the  clouds 
thickened  and  grew  dark,  and  the  snow  came  down  in 
stinging  scuds,  driving  directly  in  his  face.  The  storm 
had  come  on  a  blizzard,  and  his  horse,  a  young  colt, 
snorted  wildly  and  shook  his  head  in  a  protest  against 
facing  it.  Kneut  urged  the  animal  forward,  as  he  had 
several  miles  yet  to  go,  and  knew  from  experience  that 
the  storm  was  likely  to  increase  in  violence  rapidly 
until  midnight  or  later.  Keeping  the  colt  at  a  stiff 
trot,  and  bending  forward  to  break  the  force  of  the 
blinding  drift,  he  managed  to  keep  the  road,  which, 
lying  in  the  path  of  the  wind,  was  in  most  places 
swept  bare.  He  had  nearly  reached  the  outlet  at  the 
foot  of  Lower  Ussawau,  when  a  team  with  a  sleigh 
attached  came  dashing  up  and  passed  him. 

He  knew  the  team  at  a  glance.  It  was  Olaf  Helger- 
son's  and  Olaf  was  lying  in  the  bottom  of  the  sleigh, 
too  drunk,  probably,  to  sit  up,  and  one  line  was  drag- 


FRONTIER   SKETCHES.  89 

ging.  The  horses  were  going  at  a  keen  gallop,  and,  of 
course,  without  any  control ;  they  ran  with  their  heads 
low,  snorting  loudly,  and  evidently  keeping  the  road  by 
instinct  rather  than  sight.  They  were  young  spirited 
animals,  which  Olaf  had  raised  and  of  whose  speed  he 
boasted  greatly. 

"They'll  break  his  drunken  neck  befere  he  gets  home 
with  them,"  thought  Kneut,  "  or  they'll  throw  him  out 
Avhere  he'll  freeze  to  death."  This  last  catastrophe 
seemed  so  probable  that  Kneut,  in  alarm,  forgot, 
all  other  feeling  toward  Olaf  Helgerson,  and  whipped 
his  colt  into  a  run  to  overtake  the  sleigh. 

He  came  up  with  it  just  at  the  crossing  of  the  outlet ; 
here,  when  the  sleighing  was  bad  on  the  road,  Helger- 
son sometimes  turned  off  and  went  home  on  an  old 
"  hay  road"  which  led  through  the  marshes  on  the  east 
side  of  the  lake,  and  here  his  team,  no  doubt  sheering 
off  to  avoid  facing  the  storm  directly,  took  up  the  old 
trail  which  led  along  the  east  shore  of  Lower  Ussawau. 
There  were  no  houses  to  be  met  in  that  direction  for 
several  miles,  the  land  being  a  succession  of  swamps 
separated  by  "  hard-head  "  ridges  ;  the  region,  several 
miles  in  extent  each  way,  was  known  as  Lonesome 
Township. 

Kneut,  alarmed  at  being  turned  away  from  the  main 
road  even  for  a  moment,  ran  his  colt  alongside  the  run- 
aways, and  tried  to  reach  the  bridle-rein  of  the  nearest; 
but  the  colt  he  rode,  only  half-broken,  was  both  "  skit- 
tish "  and  unruly,  and,  try  as  he  might,  he  could  not  get 
the  animal  near  enough  to  let  him  grasp  a  rein  or  a 
line.  He  then  made  a  desperate  effort  to  get  in  front 
of  the  flying  horses  and  stop  them ;  but  again  the 
unruly  colt,  frantic  with  his  lashing  and  the  pelting  of 


90 


FRONTIER   SKETCHES. 


^'Afe:^'';v}*v;:'f!#va«'^iii*^,, 


■^i; — 


i'v'\-;: 


FRONTIER  SKETCHES.  91 

the  storm,  proved  intractable,  and  would  only  rear  and 
plunge  in  an  effort  to  keep  out  of  the  way  of  the  team. 

Failing  in  this  attempt  Kneut  reined  up  for  a  moment, 
half  tempted  to  let  the  team  go  with  its  helpless  master, 
trusting  their  instinct  to  get  him  home  safely.  But  no, 
he  could  not  do  that.  Olaf  was  lying  there  like  a  log, 
with  his  big  buffalo  coat  on  and  also  a  robe  thrown 
partly  over  him ;  but  even  if  he  were  not  freezing 
already  another  half-hour  of  such  stupor  in  a  biting 
storm,  Kneut  reasoned,  would  surely  finish  him. 

The  tipsy  fellow  had  no  doubt  broken  away  from 
his  jail,  or  given  bail,  and  had  started  for  home,  trust- 
ing to  his  horses  to  take  him  through,  as  they  had  been 
known  to  do  on  two  or  three  occasions.  No ;  plainly 
Kneut  could  not  desert  him  in  this  howling  storm, 
with  all  that  waste  of  country  to  traverse  and  no  guide 
but  the  instinct  of  dumb  brutes. 

All  this  came  to  the  brave  lad  much  more  quickly 
than  I  have  written  it,  and  no  doubt  in  different  form, 
but,  at  any  rate,  he  urged  his  colt  forward  in  the  trail 
of  the  sleigh,  determined  to  follow  until  a  chance  offered 
for  gaining  control  of  the  team. 

Several  times  he  attempted  to  ride  alongside,  with 
the  purpose  of  flinging  himself  out  of  the  saddle  and 
into  the  sleigh-box,  but  the  unmanageable-  colt  each 
time  foiled  him  by  plunging  and  floundering  and  fall- 
ing back  in  the  rear. 

Presently,  striking  a  long  flat  where  the  ground  had 
been  burned  bare  by  the  fall  fires,  and  the  covering  of 
snow  was  light,  Olaf's  team  quickened  their  pace  to  a 
stiff  run,  and  then  for  some  minutes  there  followed  a 
race  in  which  Kneut  could  barely  keep  in  sight  of  the 
runaways.    The  old  hay-road  had  disappeared  entirely. 


92  PRONTIKR    SKKTCIIE8. 

and  the  storm  was  growing  thicker  every  moment. 
The  snow  whistled  across,  cutting  Kneut's  cheek  as  he 
bent  forward  and  filling  space  \vith  a  thick  wiiite  dust 
through  which  lie  had  to  strain  his  sight  to  penetrate 
even  the  distance  of  a  few  rods. 

It  was  a  perilous,  a  despairing  chase  ;  no  road  left, 
the  lake-shore  out  of  sight,  the  direction  no  longer 
certain,  night  coming  on,  and  the  furious  blizzard  grow- 
ing thicker  and  colder  each  moment.  Even  should  the 
horses  hold  out,  and  all  survive  until  the  surrounding 
settlement  could  be  reached,  darkness  must  first  over- 
take them,  and  through  that  blinding  drift  of  snow  no 
light  could  be  seen  at  a  hopeful  distance. 

All  this  Kneut  realized  and  was  terribly  frightened ; 
but  he  pressed  on  heroically,  digging  his  heels  into  the 
colt's  ribs  and  urging  it  on  with  his  voice  and  manag- 
ing to  keep  the  sleigh  and  the  flying  team  in  sight. 
The  effort  kept  him  warm.  Suddenly  the  ground  grew 
rough  and  boggy  and  the  colt  stumbled  and  fell,  pitch- 
ing Kneut  over  its  head  and  wedging  him  between  two 
hummocks  so  tightly  that  it  took  him  some  seconds  to 
extricate  himself.  He  had  clutched  the  bridle-rein 
tightly,  so  tightly  that  it  had  broken  at  the  buckle,  and 
as  he  struggled  finally  to  his  feet  he  still  held  the  long 
end  in  his  hand  while  the  colt  snorted  and  floundered 
about  him  among  the  bogs  and  snow. 

Kneut  hastily  rebuckled  the  rein  and  mounted.  He 
could  no  longer  see  the  sleigh,  but  there  was  still  the 
trail,  though  fast  filling  up,  where  the  plunging  team 
had  wallowed  through  the  snow  amid  the  bogs.  He 
followed  for  a  few  rods  and  came  within  sight  of  an 
object  which  proved  to  be  the  sleigh  without  the 
horses  ;  the  beam  of  the  front  "  bob  "  had  struck  solidly 


FRONTIER   SKETCHES  93 

against  a  frozen  hummock  and  the  runner  had  broken, 
leaving  the  team  free  of  burden. 

Kneut  hastil}''  tumbled  off  his  horse,  tied  its  halter  to 
a  ring  in  the  end  rod  of  the  sleigh-box,  and  hurried 
around  to  Olaf,  who  lay  motionless  in  a  kind  of  heap 
where  he  had  been  thrown  by  the  jolt  into  the  front 
end  of  the  box. 

A  moment's  examination  proved  that  Helgerson  was 
alive  and  not  yet  badly  chilled,  for  his  face  was  flushed 
and  he  was  actually  snoring  in  a  drunken  stupor  of 
sleep.  Kneut  shook  him  roughly,  and  even  pounded 
him  in  an  effort  to  arouse,  but  could  only  get  him  to 
fling  his  arms  about  and  mumble  drunkenly  while  the 
snow  pelted  down  in  his  face. 

Kneut,  finding  it  impossible  to  get  him  awake,  ceased 
trying,  and  looked  about  in  desperation  to  see  what,  if 
any  thing,  might  be  done  to  save  him  from  freezing  to 
death — as  he  must  soon,  exposed  in  this  helpless  con- 
dition. 

The  Korse  lad  did  not  stop  to  think  of  his  own  peril- 
ous situation.  A  glance  about  him  discovered  the  fact 
that  the  sleigh  had  lodged  at  the  edge  of  a  slough  and 
that  a  dense  growth  of  tall  rushes  was  in  sight  a  few 
yards  distant.  They  had  been  too  green  to  burn  when 
the  early  fall  fire  had  swept  across  them,  and  it  was  in 
such  rush  brake,  he  remembered,  that,  years  before,  the 
deer  used  to  take  refuge  from  the  winter's  cold  and 
storms. 

His  plan  was  formed  at  once,  and,  going  to  his  colt 
he  deliberately  stripped  it  of  saddle  and  bridle  and 
turned  it  loose.  "  Save  yourself  if  you  can,  Jan,"  said 
he,  and  the  animal  plunged  out  of  sight  while  he  was 
speaking. 


94  FKONTIEK   SKETCHES. 

Kneut  then  turned  bis  attention  to  Olaf.  He 
wrapped  the  buffalo-robe  and  blanket  which  lay  in  the 
bottom  of  the  sleigh-box  about  the  stupid  man,  rolling 
him  in  them;  then,  seizing  him  about  the  waist,  lifted 
his  limp  body  out  of  the  sleigh.  Then,  with  a  mighty 
effort,  he  tugged  his  big  enemy  forward,  dragging 
Olaf's  long  legs  among  the  bogs,  through  the  snow  and 
in  among  the  rushes.  He  pushed  on,  puffing  and  even 
sweating  with  exertion,  until  he  had  reached  a  point 
within  the  brake  where  the  thicket  became  so  dense 
that  he  could  no  longer  get  on  and  carry  his  burden. 
Then  he  dropped  Olaf,  and  with  his  hands  broke  down 
the  rushes  in  front,  making  a  path  some  rods  further. 
Here  he  oould  scarcely  feel  the  wind,  and,  thankful 
enough  to  have  found  such  fortunate  shelter,  went  back 
and  dragged  the  stupid  Helgerson  to  it.  Then,  clear- 
ing away  a  little  spot  and  piling  the  rushes  at  one  edge 
for  iire-wood,  he  opened  Helgerson's  big  coat  and 
searched  the  pockets  of  his  inside  garments,  and  luckily, 
with  a  pipe  and  a  package  of  tobacco,  in  one  of  them 
was  a  box  of  matches.  Then,  rolling  Olaf  up  in  his 
robe  and  blanket  again,  he  got  down  over  the  pile  of 
rushes  and  managed  to  light  them. 

And  now  began  a  strange  and  wearisome  night  vigil. 

Darkness  was  already  coming  on,  and  Kneut  began 
industriously  breaking  rushes  for  fuel.  He  broke  them 
upon  the  windward  side  and  threw  them  in  heaps  upon 
the  fire.  An  armful  of  them  would  not  burn  three 
minutes,  but  that  made  no  difference;  the  fire  must  be 
kept  going,  and  undauntedly  he  worked  on  for  hours 
and  hours. 

He  had  laid  Olaf  as  close  to  the  blaze  as  he  dared, 


FliONTIEB   SKETCHES.  95 

and  occasionally  he  turned  his  huge  bundle  over  that 
the  heat  might  get  a  chance  at  both  sides. 

Once  and  a  while  he  pounded  Helgerson  vigorously 
and  then  listened  to  his  breathing,  but  he  could  only 
spare  a  moment  in  each  effort  to  awake  the  sleeper,  as 
the  fire  had  to  be  kept  going  at  all  hazards. 

The  circle  of  open  space  in  front  of  the  blaze  grew 
wider  as  Kneut  broke  the  rushes  and  threw  them  on. 
They  were  so  thick,  though,  that  an  armful  could  be 
gathered  without  stepping  out  of  his  tracks.  Steadily 
he  worked,  while  the  storm  whistled  and  howled  about 
his  head,  and  the  swaying  rushes  alternated  with  the 
driving  snow  in  dealing  him  stinging  cuts  upon  the  face. 

It  was  nearly  morning  when  Olaf,  after  a  pounding, 
came  to  himself,  and,  after  rubbing  his  eyes  and  mum- 
bling in  a  growling  voice  for  a  bit,  sat  up  before  the 
fire.  Curiously  and  half-dazedly  he  watched  Kneut 
coming  and  goings  at  the  fire. 

Presently  Kneut  threw  on  an  extra  large  armful  and 
stopped  in  front  of  Olaf. 

"  Halloo,  Olaf  Helgerson  !  "  he  shouted.  "  Do  you 
know  where  you  are  ? " 

Olaf  gazed  at  him  earnestly  for  a  minute. 

"  You  are  Kneut  Halvorsen,"  he  said.  "  How  came 
we  here  1 " 

And  then,  while  feeding  the  flame  lightly  with  a 
fresh  bundle  of  rushes,  Kneut  told  his  story. 

When  he  had  finished  Olaf  staggered  to  his  feet  and 
threw  his  arms  about  Kneut. 

"Kneut,  Kneut?"  he  burst  out,  hugging  the  lad 
close  to  him,  "  I've  got  my  pay !  I've  got  ray  pay  ! " 
And  the  big  rough  fellow,  in  his  wonder  and  gratitude, 
wept  like  a  child,  while  Kneut  supported  his  unsteady 


96  FRONTIER   SKETCHES. 

limbs.  He  had  sobered  suddenly  and  thoroughly,  and 
after  Kneut  had  helped  to  walk  him  about  a  bit  gained 
the  use  of  his  limbs,  and  for  the  balance  of  the  night 
helped  Kneut  to  keep  the  fire  going. 

While  walking  about  Olaf  told  how  he  remembered 
rushing  against  the  door  of  the  "  calaboose,"  breaking 
it  down  and  running  for  his  sleigh,  but  he  could  remem- 
ber nothing  further. 

Morning  came  soon,  and  though  it  was  still  storming 
hard,  the  air  was  not  so  filled  with  snow  as  it  had  been, 
and  they  managed,  by  rightly  calculating  the  direction 
of  the  wind,  to  gain  the  lake  shore,  and  from  that 
point  it  was  an  easy  matter  to  find  the  way  around  to 
Kneut's  home,  just  above  Elk  Grove  Point.  Widow 
Halvorsen's  surprise  was  as  great  as  her  anxiety  had 
been ;  and,  when  her  son  and  her  late  enemy  had 
recounted  their  story  while  warming  themselves  at  the 
fire,  her  thankfulness  was  greatly  increased  to  know 
that  the  night's  adventure  had  made  them  friends  as 
well  as  brought  them  safe  out  of  the  storm. 

By  almost  a  miracle  of  instinct  or  luck  Olaf's  horses 
reached  his  house  in  safety  and  found  their  way  into 
his  cattle-shed,  where  they  spent  the  night  among  the 
cows;  but  Kneut's  colt  perished  in  the  blizzard,  and 
was  found  afterwards  some  five  miles  east  of  the  lakes. 
It  had,  no  doubt,  run  until  exhausted,  and  then  lain 
down  to  freeze. 

Olaf  replaced  Kneut's  loss  Avith  another  horse,  insist- 
ing that  even  then  he  was,  and  always  would  be, 
Kneut's  debtor,  and  since  that  night  his  neighbors 
declare  that  he  has  been  a  good  neighbor  and  a  decent 
man. 


IX. 

A  WILD  NIGHT-RIDE. 

At  nine  o'clock  one  September  evening  in  18Y6  Itook 
the  coach  which  left  Custer  City — or  Custer  Village, 
for  the  town  consisted  of  twenty  or  thirty  log  struc- 
tures— to  go  to  Sidney,  Nebraska.  A  coach,  I  suppose 
it  should  be  called,  though  on  the  plains  this  vehicle, 
which  has  the  driver's  seat  on  the  same  level  as  the 
passengers'  seats,  is  called  a  "hack." 

I  had  gone  to  the  "  Hills  "  to  engage  in  mining,  but 
after  four  months  of  prospecting  had  decided  to  open  a 
general  supply-store  at  the  new  town  of  Dead  wood, 
and  was  on  my  way  to  Omaha  to  purchase  goods  for 
the  venture. 

A  tin  lamp,  fastened  in  one  corner  of  the  "  hack," 
discovered  to  me  two  passengers  within  as  I  entered 
and  took  my  seat.  ,  One  was  an  old  gentleman,  appar- 
ently weak  and  ill,  for,  although  it  was  not  a  cold 
night,  he  .was  muffled  in  a  coarse,  heavy  ulster  over- 
coat. Moreover,  so  much  of  his  face  as  I  could  see 
between  a  gray  beard  which  almost  covered  it  and  the 
rim  of  a  slouch  hat  was  pale  -and  thin,  and  the  eyes 
looked  sunken  and  unnatural.  At  least,  so  it  struck  me 
at  a  cursory  glance. 

The  other  passenger  was  a  young  fellow  of  twenty- 
two  or  twenty-three  years,  I  judged,  decidedly  dandi- 
fied in  his  dress  for  that  region.  He  wore  a  stiff  hat 
and  a  stand-up  collar  encircled  by  a  neat  tie,  and  had 
on  a  dark  suit,  evidently  custom-made,  which  was  an 
unusual '•  get-up "  for  that  region,  and  one  which  at 

97 


98  FKONTIER   SKETCHES. 

once  aroused  my  suspicion,  for  the  only  persons  I  had 
seen  about  the  mining  towns  dressed  in  anything  Hke 
that  fashion  were  gamblers,  a  class  of  men  I  had  made 
it  a  point  to  avoid. 

Just  before  setting  out  the  driver  came  to  the  side 
of  the  vehicle,  thrust  in  a  light  Winchester  carbine, 
and  placed  it  between  my  knees. 

"  I  see  you  didn't  have  no  gun,"  said  he,  "  an'  I  keep 
a  couple  of  extra  ones  fer  sech." 

That  was  all.  No  further  explanation  was  necessary 
in  those  days. 

I  took  charge  of  the  weapon,  although  I  was  as  little 
expert  in  its  use  as  I  was  in  handling  the  Smith  & 
Wesson  in  my  hip-pocket,  which,  indeed,  I  had  never 
yet  discharged. 

I  knew  enough  of  life  in  the  mines  to  know  that  the 
"  bad  man  with  a  gun  "  is  usually  the  man  who  gets 
into  difficulty  rather  than  the  peaceful  and  unarmed 
citizen ;  but  a  stage-ride  from  Custer  to  Sidney  at  that 
time  was  a  trip  not  altogether  likely  to  be  without 
its  adventures,  and  for  once  I  regretted  my  unfamiliar- 
ity  with  "  shooting  irons." 

It  occurred  to  me  that  if  we  were  "  jumped  by  road 
agents,"  as  the  phrase  went,  the  freebooters  of  the 
route  would  have  little  to  fear  from  the  occupants  of 
the  hack,    whether   they  got    much    money  or    not. 

There  were  usually  valuables  of  some  sort  in  the  iron 
box  under  the  driver's  seat. 

The  young  man  who  sat  opposite  me  nau  a  carbine 
across  his  lap,  but  I  fancied  he  knew  even  less  of  its 
use  than  I  did.  As  we  started  he  sat,  without  noticing 
me,  twirling  a  shght  mustache  and  humming  a  tune. 


FKONTIER   SKETCHES.  99 

"  A  fresh  gamester,  if  one  at  all,"  I  said  to  myself  upon 
a  second  look  at  him. 

.    The  old  man  had  no  arms  in  sight.     The  driver  no 
doubt  regarded  him  as  out  of  the  fight  at  any  event. 

As  we  rolled  on  up  into  Buffalo  Gap  I  had  a  few 
words  of  conversation  with  my  companions.  I  learned 
that  the  elder  was  an  Iowa  farmer  who  had  come  out 
to  see  what  he  could  do  in  the  new  mines,  but  he  had 
been  ill  with  mountain  fever,and  afterward  attacked  by 
rheumatism,  so  that  he  had  been  forced  to  abandon 
his  projects  and  return  to  the  East,  lie  spoke  freely, 
and  in  the  careless  English  of  Western  men. 

The  young  fellow  said  he  was  from  New  York.  "  Neh 
Yawk,"  he  pronounced  it.  He  was,  he  said,  a  student 
of  mining  engineering,  but  be  did  not  mention  what 
his  business  had  been  in  that  region;  but  that  was  not 
strange,  for  we  could  not  talk  much.  A  jolting  stage 
bowling  over  a  rough  country  at  eight  miles  an  hour 
does  not  give  the  best  opportunity  for  conversation. 

I  soon  became  sleepy,  and  leaning  back  in  my  cor- 
ner, took  siich  momentary  cat-naps  as  the  nature  of 
the  road  permitted.  At  eleven  o'clock  we  made  a 
brief  halt  at  a  temporary  stage  station,  where  the 
driver's  four-in  hand  team  was  exchanged  for  fresh 
horses. 

I  peeped  out,  and  got  a  glimpse  of  the  teams,  of  two 
men  with  a  lantern,  of  a  low  structure  of  sod  or  adobe 
faintly  outlined,  and  of  the  black  side  of  a  pine-covered 
mountain  beyond.  The  night  was  quite  dark,  with 
floating  clouds  and  no  moon.  It  became  somewhat 
lighter  as  we  passed  out  of  the  gap  a  little  later,  as  I 
noted  through  a  crack  in  the  swaying  "  flap  "  opposite. 

The  road  Avas  now  smoother,  and  I  settled  back  in 


100  FRONTIER   SKETCHES. 

my  corner,  as  my  companions  had  done,  to  get  a  little 
solid  sleep  if  possible.  I  dozed  off  for  a  time,  but  was 
awakened  by  the  groaning  of  the  old  man  beside  me. 
He  seemed  to  be  in  great  pain,  and  writhed  about  ner- 
vously. I  asked  him  what  was  the  trouble.  He 
replied  that  the  rheumatism  in  his  legs  was  nearly  kill- 
ing him. 

"  I  wisht  the  driver'd  let  me  aout  when  we  git  t'  th' 
nex'  crick.  He'll  water  likely,  'n'  I've  jest  got  t'  stretch 
my  legs  er  die.  Ye  see  I'm  troubled  with  cramp  rheu- 
matism, an'  th'  ain't  no  room  in  hyer  t'  get  the  cramp 
out  o'  my  legs." 

I  told  him  I  would  speak  to  the  driver  when  we 
halted,  a  few  minutes  later,  at  the  bank  of  a  stream — 
"White  River,  I  believe.  I  thrust  my  head  out  at  the 
side,  and  asked  that  the  old  gentleman  might  be  let  out 
for  a  moment  to  stretch  his  legs. 

"  All  right !  "  said  the  driver,  as  he  clambered  down 
from  his  own  seat.  "Tm  goin'  ter  oncheck  'u'  let  the 
hosses  take  a  pull  at  th'  drink." 

I  then  helped  the  old  man  to  dismount,  steadying  him 
by  the  arm  as  he  got  down.  He  seemed  to  have  a  good 
deal  of  difficulty  in  alighting,  and  groaned  in  a  most 
lugubrious  fashion.  The  flap  swung  to  after  him,  as  I 
had  unbuttoned  it  all  around  to  let  him  out.  The  young 
man  opposite  me  lay  curled  up  on  his  seat,  but  I  could 
see  that  his  eyes  were  wide  open,  and  that  he  was  eying 
rae  with  a  sharp,  keen  glance.  My  eyes  probably 
responded  when  they  fell  upon  his,  for  he  straightened 
up  in  an  alert  fashion,  and  leaned  toward  me. 

"Say,"  he  whispered,  "do  you  think  that  old  chap's 
all  right?  Strikes  rae  that  groaning  of  his  was  put  on. 
What  dy'e  think  ? " 


FRONTIER    SKETCHES.  101 

The  question  startled  me  no  less  than  the  young  fel- 
low's manner,  and  I  was  about  to  make  some  reply 
when  a  gun  or  pistol  shot  rang  in  our  ears,  followed  by 
a  yell  either  of  pain  or  surprise,  and  a  lurch  of  the  hack 
threw  me  forward  against  my  companion's  knees. 

Either  the  shot  or  the  yell  had  startled  our  team,  and 
we  went  down  the  bank  and  into  the  stream  with  a 
lunge.  I  heard  shots — one,  two,  three — as  we  splashed 
through  the  water.     Then  more  yells,  loud  and  fierce. 

My  notion  of  what  had  happened  or  was  happening 
was  confused  for  a  moment,  and  then  I  saw  my  com- 
rade— for  the  light  still  burned — crawling  through  to 
the  driver's  seat  as  we  went  careening  up  the  ODposite 
bank. 

A  second  later  he  had  gathered  the  lines,  which  were 
tied  in  front,  and  while  he  held  them  with  one  hand  he 
grasped  a  front  rib  of  the  hack  with  the  other.  Then 
he"  leaned  out  and  glanced  back. 

Luckil}'-  the  horses,  which  were  going  at  a  gallop — 
they  were  animals  which  needed  no  urging — kept'  to 
the  road,  and  the  cool-headed  young  fellow  was  not 
pitched  out. 

"  There's  a  lot  of  'em,"  he  shouted  in  at  me  a  moment 
later.  "  I  can  just  see  four  or  five  getting  onto  their 
horses.  They've  killed  the  driver,  I  guess,  and  after  us 
now!  " 

With  that  he  gathered  up  the  Ipng-lashed  whip, 
which  lay  in  the  boot,  and  dropping  upon  his  knees 
began  yeUing  and  laying  the  whip  upon  the  team. 

In  a  moment  we  were  going  at  a  fearful  pace,  and 
despite  the  excitement  and  fright  of  the  moment  I 
noticed  that  our  four  horses  caine  to  hand  and  ran 


102  FRONTIER   SKETCHES. 

with  a  steady,  even  gait  which  did  credit  to  the  young 
man's  driving. 

"  Get  ready  for  'em  now  !  "  lie  screamed  back  at  me; 
"  they'll  be  down  on  us  in  a  minute.  Open  the  back 
flap  'n'  pour  it  into  'em  with  your  guns,  and  when 
they're  empty  get  mine  under  the  seat !  " 

He  was  my  captain  as  well  as  driver,  and  I  obeyed 
instinctiveh'^,  for  I  certainly  had  formed  no  i)lan  of 
defense  or  action  on  my  own  account. 

I  managed  to  unbutton  and  roll  up  the  leather 
behind,  and  peering  out,  on  my  knees  before  the  back 
seat,  I  saw  that  we  were  indeed  followed.  It  was 
light  enough  to  distinguish  objects  dimly  at  a  hundred 
yards,  and  there  were  at  least  five  horsemen  in  our 
rear,  tearing  along  at  the  top  of  their  animals'  speed. 
Knowing  that  they  were  Avithin  rifle-shot  I  opened  fire 
on  them  over  the  seat.  I  worked  the  leter  of  my  gun 
as  rapidly  as  I  could,  but  made  awkward  business  of 
it.  Presently  I  got  a  shell  stuck,  and  began  trying  to 
get  it  out.  In  the  meantime  our  pursuers  were  gaining 
with  every  second. 

They  were  within  fifty  yards  before  I  could  get  out 
my  shell  and  I  was  too  excited  to  think  of  using 
another  gun.  Suddenly  the  light  in  the  hack  went 
out,  and  a  hand  upon  my  shoulder  jerked  me  backward. 
Then  a  voice  yelled  in  my  ear : 

"  Let  me  get  at  them !  Load  the  guns  for  me,  'n' 
let  the  team  go.  We  might's  well  smash  as  be  riddled 
by  bullets.     Here,  here's  two  boxes  of  cartridges !  " 

I  dropped  back  to  the  other  seat  and  gave  place  to 
him.  He  threw  his  carbines  over  the  back  of  the  hind 
,seat  and  began  firing. 

Crack !    crack !    crack !     It  seemed   to   me   that  a 


FRONTIER    SKETCHES.  103 

steady  stream  of  fire  poured  out  of  the  back  of  the 
stage,  and  before  I  had  filled  the  magazine  of  my  gun, 
his  was  empty.  He  snatched  mine,  however,  and 
thrust  his  own  back  at  me. 

Loading  was  awkward  business  at  first,  as  I  had  to 
feel  for  the  feeder,  but  I  managed  soon  to  thrust  them 
into  my  gun  as  fast  as  he  could  work  the  lever  of  his 
own.  The  men,  whoever  and  whatever  they  were,  rode 
up  to  within  twenty-five  or  thirty  yards,  and,  spreading 
out,  opened  fire  on  us. 

"  Keep  close  down  in  the  bottom  !  "  shouted  my  com- 
rade, as  he  kept  on  with  his  firing. 

The  "  road  agents  "  did  not  come  nearer,  evidently 
fearing  too  great  exposure  to  the  stream  of  shots  from 
the  hack,  and  my  courage  rose  to  something  near  the 
level  of  my  companion's.  I  caught  glimpses,  as  I 
glanced  up  now  and  then,  of  a  plunging  horse-man  with 
shadowy,  outstretched  arm,  from  which  flashed  blaze 
after  blaze  of  light. 

All  at  once  we  began  descending  into  a  gulley,  and 
the  hack  bounced  from  side  to  side  so  violently  that  it 
was  impossible  for  us  to  do  anything  but  cling  to  the 
sides  of  the  box. 

"It's  all  right!"  rang  my  companion's  voice  in  my 
ear,  shortly  after  we  had  begun  the  descent ;  "  they've 
quit.  The}^  can't  ride  along  the  side  of  the  gulch,  and 
daren't  follow  straight  behind.  There's  a  stage  ranch 
below,  too.     I  remember  the  road." 

Sure  enough,  the  men  had  dropped  back,  and  the 
shots  ceased.  My  cool,  brave  comrade  now  clam- 
bered over  me,  and  in  some  way  got  into  the  front  seat 
of  the  jumping  coach.  A  moment  later  I  noticed  that 
we  were  slowing  up  and  running  more  steadily.     Five 


104  FRONTIKR   SKKTCHES. 

minutes  more  we  halted,  what  was  left  of  us,  safe  and 
sound  in  front  of  a  stage  station. 

Our  story  was  soon  told,  our  horses  exchanged  and 
a  fresh  driver,  doubly  armed,  put  with  us.  Such  little 
accidents  did  not  stop  stages  in  those  parts. 

There  was  no  danger,  they  told  us,  from  that  same 
gang.  The  three  men  who  were  left  promised  to  go 
immediately  and  look  after  our  other  driver. 

It  was  only  the  darkness  and  the  motion  of  the 
vehicle  and  horses  that  had  saved  us  from  being  hit. 

We  found  several  bullet  marks  about  the  coach  next 
morning;  one  of  them,  well  aimed,  had  gone  through 
the  back  seat  at  an  angle  and  into  the  front,  and  must 
have  passed  directl}^  between  us.  My  respect  for  my 
young  companion  was  greatly  raised  by  the  events  of 
that  night,  and  was  further  increased  by  an  after 
acquaintance  which  discovered  his  real  modesty  and 
worth. 

On  my  return  to  the  "  Hills,"  I  learned  that  our 
driver  had  been  picked  up  at  the  crossing  of  the  creek, 
badly  wounded,  and  also  that  the  brave  fellow  had 
yelled  to  the  team  to  go  the  very  second  he  was  hit. 
lie  had  been  carried  to  Sidney.  As  to  the  rheumatic 
old  man,  he  was,  of  course,  a  rascal  in  league  with  the 
band  who  had  attacked  us. 


X. 

CARLEN  AND  HIS  COMET. 

Several  years  ago,  if  one  had  been  traveling  through 
Lake  Township,  in  a  county  of  eastern  Dakota,  and 
had  inquired  who  was  its  best  known  and  most  reputa- 
ble citizen,  the  answer  in  almost  every  case  would  have 
been  Emmet  Carlen,  and  almost  any  settler  could  have 
pointed  out  on  the  level  prairie,  from  his  own  door,  the 
house  and  buildings  of  the  young  JSTorwegian  upon  tLie 
crest  of  "  Tip-Top  Knoll,"  at  the  head  of  Rush  Lake. 

Emmet  began  life  in  Lake  Township  as  many  other 
IsTorseraen  in  many  other  regions  of  our  New  West 
have  done,  with  no  possessions  save  a  change  of  cloth- 
ing ;  but,  at  the  end  of  a  few  years,  he  had,  by  his  thrift 
and  industry,  secured  and  improved  a  new  farm,  and 
placed  himself  on  the  sure  road  to  comfort  and  plenty. 

At  the  time  of  which  I  write,  however,  it  was  not  so 
much  his  thrift  that  made  him  a  marked  man,  but  a 
certain  daring,  cool-headedness  which  he  had  always 
displayed  when  courage  and  intrepidity  were  demanded 

Once,  at  his  own  great  peril,  he  had  carried  food  and 
extra  clothing  to  a  school-teacher  and  a  half-dozen 
small  children  who  were  confined  in  a  little  school- 
house,  nearly  a  mile  from  any  habitation,  by  one  of  the 
fiercest  blizzards  ever  known  in  that  region.  This 
happened  during  the  first  year  of  his  stay  there,  and 
while  he  was  working  for  his  board  and  attending 
school  with  the  little  ones  whose  lives  he  saved. 

Strangely  enough,  he  was  again  to  figure  as  the 
rescuer  of   two  of  these  same  children  from  another 

105 


106  FRONTIER   SKETCHES. 

sweeping  storm,  one  even  more  terrible  than  the  dreaded 
blizzard,  a  storm  of  fire,  as  it  swept  over  the  tall,  dry 
grass  of  the  unbroken  prairie. 

To  this  exploit,  however,  there  was  another  party, 
Emmet's  big  steer,  "  Comet,"  without  whose  aid,  indeed, 
the  children  must  have  perished. 

This  animal  was  quite  as  noteworthy  as  his  master. 
"  Comet "  was  a  huge,  long-legged,  long-horned  steer. 
For  two  years  Emmet  had  only  his  help  in  plowing 
and  cultivating  the  "  Tip-Top  "  homestead,  except  that 
the  breaking  of  sod  was  done  by  hired  "  breakers," 

The  young  Norseman  hitched  his  steer  to  a  heavy 
cart,  and  drove  him  to  market  at  the  small  but  ambi- 
tious town  of  Boomerang,  eight  miles  distant.  In  win- 
ter, when  snow  fell  and  the  roads  were  good,  a  light 
sled  took  the  place  of  the  cart. 

Before  the  sled  Comet  soon  gained  a  local  reputation 
for  speed  upon  the  road.  His  gait  was  a  steady,  long- 
stepping  trot,  like  that  of  an  elk,  and  nearly  as  swift. 
At  any  rate,  it  was  soon  an  admitted  fact  that  there 
were  no  horses  in  the  neighborhood  that  could  pass 
Comet  in  a  trotting-match.  This  was  abundantly 
proved  by  many  races  along  the  road  to  town  and 
back,  where  the  drivers  of  the  teams  or  single  horses 
had  tried  and  failed  to  "  go  by  "  the  fleet  steer. 

Comet  had  taken  his  name  from  a  former  owner,  and 
it  was  given  him  because  of  his  wonderful  speed  and  a 
habit  of  flying  his  long  tail  as  a  horizontal  streamer 
while  "cutting"'  away  from  the  herd  and  the  herder's 
pony.  The  owner  was  willing  to  sell  the  animal  cheap, 
because  he  was  unruly  and  hard  to  break.  Emmet 
heard  of  the  chance  to  buy,  and  bethought  him  of  the 
plan,  often  adopted  in  Norway,  of  driving  oxen  singly. 


FRONTIER   SKETCHES.  107 

But  he  had  no  ready  money.  Although  he  had 
strong  objections  to  running  into  debt,  he  did  so  now, 
and  obtained  Comet  by  giving  his  note  for  twenty  dol- 
lars. Then,  having  fashioned  a  yoke  and  harness  of 
the  Norse  pattern,  he  set  to  work  with  characteristic 
patience  and  kindness  to  bring  the  big,  headstrong  ani- 
mal "  under  the  yoke." 

His  success,  though  won  after  a  hard  struggle,  was 
complete,  and,  in  a  few  weeks  Comet,  hitched  to  a 
vehicle  made  from  two  wheels  of  an  old  wagon,  with 
Emmet  seated  upon  the  axle,  was  driven  to  Boomer- 
ang. There  the  young  fellow  bought  a  few  boards  at 
the  lumber  yard,  nailed  together  a  rough  box,  secured 
it  by  bolts  and  braces  to  the  axle  which  had  served  him 
for  a  seat,  and  rode  home  in  triumph. 

That  autumn  Emmet  bought  a  small  ten-inch  stirring 
plough,  and  turned  over  ten  acres  of  sod.  The  steer 
pulled  the  implement  with  ease  after  a  short   training. 

The  next  year  another  ten  acres  was  broken  upon 
the  homestead,  and  Comet  was  still  sufficient  for  all 
Emmet's  purposes.  It  was  in  October  of  this  year 
that  the  event  which  is  the  subject  of  this  narrative 
occurred. 

Emmet  was  ploughing.  The  day  was  one  of 
those  common  to  that  season  in  new  prairie  regions, 
smoky,  with  a  strong  northwest  wind  smelling  of 
burned  grass,  a  fine  dust  of  cinders  sifting  down,  and 
sun  shining  through  smoke  and  dust  with  a  dull  red 
glare.  But  as  Emmet  had  sometime  before  burned  a 
broad  "fire  break  '  around  his  shanty,  grain  and  hay- 
stacks, he  noted  these  evidences  of  raging  fires  witiiout 
uneasiness.     They  came  at  some  time  every  autumn. 

It  was  about  the  middle  of  the  afternoon  that  little 


108  FKONTIKK    SKKTCIIKS. 

Jake  and  Lib  Walker  came  into  his  field,  bringing 
some  grain  bags  "which  Emmet  had  lent  their  father  to 
use  during  his  threshing  the  week  before. 

Walker  lived  at  the  foot  of  Eush  Lake,  about  a  mile 
from  the  school  house,  where  the  young  Norwegians 
had  taken  lessons  in  English,  and  these  little  fellows, 
Jake  and  Lib,  had  been  his  schoolmates  when  the  "  big 
blizzard  "  came,  cutting  them  off  suddenly  from  home 
and  imperilling  their  lives. 

"  Hal-lo,  Yakie ;  hal-lo,  Libbie  !  You  a  koot  fays 
from  home,  aint  it?"  was  Emmet's  greeting  as  the 
lads  came  up,  each  staggering  under  ?.  back-load  of 
sacks. 

"We've  been  a  good  deal  further'n  this  more'n 
once,"  said  Jake,  ''  and  we've  got  to  go  clear  round  the 
lake  'n'  drive  the  cows  home  yit  to-night.  They're 
away  over  yonder,"  pointing  across  the  lake,  "  where 
the  wild  rice  grows  'long  the  edge,  and  pa's  gone  to 
town." 

"  Sit  you  ride  town  on  t'em  packs  t'ere,  "  said  Emmet, 
"  unt  rest  yo'  leeks,  unt  I  feel  let  Comet  rest,  too.  I 
did  tink  meppe  as  I  coot  feenish  tot  bloughin'  py 
night-time  put  I  ton't  know  off  I  ken  to  ut. " 

And  then,  seated  on  the  plough-beam,  he  talked 
pleasantly  with  the  boys  for  a  few  minutes,  then  tell- 
ing them  that  he  would  carry  the  sacks  to  the  house 
when  he  turned  out,  bade  them  "  look  out  unt  not  ket 
lost  een  t'em  tall  krasses, " — tall  grass — as  they  trudged 
sturdily  away  toward  the  upper  end  of  the  lake. 

The  lads  had  been  gone  from  the  field  about  half  an 
hour  when  Emmet  noted  with  alarm  that  the  smoke 
which  had  pervaded  the  air  all  day  had  thickened, 
until  now  the  sun  was  almost  clouded  over,  showing 


FKONTIER   SKETCHES.  109 

only  a  dull  red  disk.     The  smell  of  burning  grass  had 
grown  more  pungent. 

His  fears  were  aroused  wholly  on  account  of  the  two 
boys  who  had  gone  to  the  other  side  of  the  lake.  The 
field  in  which  he  was  at  work  lay  upon  the  south  side 
of  the  hill  upon  which  his  shanty  stood,  shutting  off 
the  view  to  north  and  west,  from  whence  the  wind  was 
blowing. 

He  unhitched  Comet  at  once,  and  drove  him  at  a 
trot  to  the  top  of  the  hill. 

No  sooner  had  he  reached  the  crest  than  he  saw 
cause  enough  for  alarm,  Not  two  miles  away  to  the 
northwest  dense  volumes  of  smoke  were  rising  and  roll- 
ing forward  over  a  broad  stretch  of  prairie.  A  big 
prairie  fire  was  sweeping  down  at  a  tremendous  rate 
of  speed,  the  "  head  fire"  lining  out  directly  toward  the 
head  of  the  lake. 

What  could  he  do  to  save  those  two  boys  ?  was  the 
young  Norwegian's  first  thought.  They  must  be  even 
at  that  moment,  he  thought,  well  round  the  head  of  the 
lake,  wading  through  the  tall  grass  of  the  fiat.  There 
was  no  bank  to  the  lake  upon  that  side;  wild  rice  and 
tall  rushes  grew  far  out  into  the  water,  and  this  swamp 
growth  would  burn  to  its  very  edge.  He  could  not 
race  wnth  the  fire  on  foot,  and  he  doubted  if  even  a 
horse  would  be  able  to  outstrip  it,  but  he  instantly 
resolved  to  make  the  trial  with  Comet. 

He  had  frequently  ridden  the  big  fellow,  who  had 
become  as  docile  and  obedient  as  a  dog,  to  and  from 
the  field,  hawing  and  geeing  him  about  at  will.  Now, 
if  possible,  he  would  ride  the  fleet-footed  steed  to  some 
purpose.  To  throw  off  the  yoke  and  harness,  tie  a  rope 
around  the  animal's  body  to  cling  to,  and  another  to 


110  FRONTIER    SKETCHES. 

either  horn  to  serve  as  reins,  was  the  work  of  a  minute; 
then,  whip  in  hand,  Emmet  mounted  and  was  off. 

Comet,  feeling  a  few  stinging  blows  of  the  whip, 
broke  away  at  his  swiftest  trot.  Although  his  gait  had 
more  than  once  defied  the  best  trotters  of  the  settle- 
ment, the  big  steer  could  hold  it  with  ease  for  a  length 
of  time  that  seemed  incredible.  In  fact,  as  had  been 
proved  when  Comet  ran  wild  among  the  settlement 
herds,  the  animal  was  as  nearly  tireless  as  flesh  and 
blood  could  be. 

But  it  was  a  rough  ride,  and  Emmet  was  obliged  to 
cling  tightly  with  one  hand  to  the  girth-rope,  while 
managing  reins  and  whip  with  the  other. 

The  whip,  however,  was  not  needed,  and  the  rider 
had  only  to  yell  '•  Hi !  Hi !  "  to  keep  the  steer  flying  at 
his  best  gait.  With  head  up  and  tail  streaming.  Comet 
rounded  the  point  of  the  lake,  some  half-mile  from  the 
knoll  cabin,  just  as  the  ''head  fire"  reached  the  upper 
end  of  the  flat  which  lay  to  west  and  north  of  the  lake. 

That  "  head  fire  "  was  now  not  a  mile  distant,  and 
was  coming  directly  down  the  flat  which  followed  the 
southeast  trend  of  the  lake. 

The  smoke  had  growni  so  thick  that  Emmet  could 
only  see  a  few  hundred  feet  ahead,  but  he  kept  well 
within  sight  of  the  lake  sliore,  knowing  that  the  boys 
could  not  have  gone  far  down  as  yet,  and  that  they 
were  not  likely  to  wander  far  from  the  lake's  edge,  for 
fear  of  getting  lost.  Their  cattle,  too,  would  be  found 
along  shore,  feeding  upon  the  rice-heads. 

"Hi!  Hi!  Hi!" 

Away  they  tore  through  the  high  grass,  across 
ditches,  over  rough,  boggy  spots,  the  rider  gettmg  a 
terrible  pounding,  the  steer  possessed  of  but  one  instinct, 


FRONTIER   SKETCHES.  Ill 

it  seemed — to  respond  to  those  sharp  yells  with  the 
utmost  possible  strides  of  his  long,  fleet  legs. 

The  tire  meanwhile  was  gaining  every  moment,  in 
spite  of  his  tremendous  exertion.  Emmet  could  see 
that  the  smoke  closed  in  thicker,  and  feel  that  the  air 
was  growing  hot  and  oppressive. 

But  suddenly  two  little  dark  objects  appeared  a  few 
yards  ahead,  bobbing  above  the  waving  grass. 

Emmet  gave  a  shout  of  delight ;  it  was  the  black 
heads  of  Jake  and  Lib,  nodding  as  they  ran.  Their 
hats  were  off,  and  they  were  running  as  fast  as  the 
wilderness  of  grass  would  let  them. 

In  an  instant  Comet  was  alongside,  and,  with  a  few 
sharp  whoas  and  a  hard  pull  at  the  reins,  Emmet 
managed  to  stop  him  but  a  few  yards  in  front  of  the 
boys. 

They  ran  to  him  with  eager  shouts,  their  fright 
turned  to  joy  at  the  sight  of  him.  But  without  wait- 
ing to  answer  them  he  leaned  forward,  caught  Lib  by 
the  arm,  and  swung  him  up  in  front,  then  helped  Jake 
to  scramble  on  behind. 

"  Hank  tight  to  me,  Yake,"  he  said  ;  then,  throw- 
ing an  arm  around  Lib  and  grasping  the  rope,  he  dug 
his  heels  into  Comet's  ribs,  and  with  a  shrill  "  Hi ! 
Hi !  "  set  the  steer  off  again  at  a  swinging  pace. 

The  crackle  and  roar  of  the  fire  could  plainly  be 
heard  as  they  started,  and  Comet,  either  objecting  to 
his  additional  burden  or  uneasy  at  the  smell  and  the 
roar  of  the  fire,  began  snorting  and  throwing  his  head 
on  either  side  ominously. 

Emmet  feared  that  the  steer  would  become  unman- 
ageable, and  as  a  last  resort,  determined  to  run  hira 
into   the  lake   and  make  a  swim  for  it.      Somewhere 


112 


FKONTIER   SKETCUES. 


not  far  below,  he  knew  there  was  an  arm  of  the  lake 
about  one  hundred  yards  wide,  extending  out  a 
considerable  distance  into  the  flat,  and  this  arm,  or 
ba3^ou,  he  had  hoped  to  reach. 

He  knew  that  Comet  would  not  hesitate  an  instant 
to  plunge  into  it  and  swim, — the  steer  had  been  known 


"Hank  tight  to  me,  Yake." — Page  111. 

to  swim  clear  across  the  lake  itself, — and  once  upon 
the  other  side,  he  could  soon  make  his  little  party 
safe. 

Suddenly  the  smoke  lifted,  and  he  ventured  a  glance 
backward.  The  sight  was  appalling!  The  smoke, 
driven  upward  by  the  rush  of  heated  air,  was  flying 


FRONTIER   SKETCHES.  113 

above  their  heads,  leaving  the  jumping  flames  in  plain 
view. 

The  head  fire  was  not  a  quarter-mile  distant,  Emmet 
judged,  and  was  bearing  down  on  them  with  terrible 
speed,  the  flames  shooting  higher  than  he  had  ever  seen 
them  rise  before. 

Little  Jake  and  Lib  clung  to  him  without  a  word, 
while  Comet  threw  his  head  about  and  snorted  more 
violently  than  before. 

But  suddenly  there  was  a  strip  of  water  before  them ; 
the  arm  of  the  lake  had  been  reached.  A  moment 
more,  and  they  were  into  it  with  a  splash,  and  Comet 
was  swimming  with  his  heavy  burden  and  carrying  it 
more  easily  than  he  had  been  able  to  bear  it  upon  land ; 
but  his  body  sank  until  the  water  came  up  to  Jake's 
waist,  and  nothing  but  the  nose  and  horns  of  the  steer 
could  be  seen. 

But  swimming  was  much  slower  work  than  running 
had  been,  and  by  the  time  the  opposite  shore  was 
reached  the  fire  was  already  roaring  at  the  other  edge. 

Emmet  leaped  off  into  the  edge  of  the  water,  and 
pulled  Jake  and  Lib  with  him. 

"  Here ! "  he  shouted,  giving  them  the  ropes.  "  Hank 
tite  to  'im  ;  ton'fc  let  'im  loose  off  you  can  hold  to  'im. 
You  yust  so  safe  as  to  home  now." 

They  obeyed  manfully,  and  Emmet,  drawing  a 
match-box  from  his  vest  pocket,  dropped  upon  his  knees 
at  the  nearest  dry  place,  and,  lighting  a  match,  held  his 
hat  over  it  until  the  flame  had  touched  the  blades  of 
grass  which  he  bent  toward  it ;  then  he  stepped  back 
into  the  water  and  took  charge  of  the  steer  again. 

The  flames  on  the  other  side  had  now  reached  the 


114  FliONTIEli   SKETCHES. 

water's  edge,  and  bunches  of  burning  grass  were  blown 
toward  them. 

For  an  instant  the  heat  was  intense,  ahnost  scorch- 
ing. Great  tongues  of  angry  flame  lapped  over  among 
the  waters  and  reached  out  toward  them.  'Then,  with 
a  final  cracking  whish!  they  died  out,  leaving  a  black, 
smoking  surface  beyond. 

The  fire  swept  on  around  the  bayou,  but  mean- 
while Emmet's  small  blaze  sprang  up  and  stretched 
away,  gathering  force  and  speed  as  it  swept  a  wider 
space. 

Comet  took  things  quietly  after  his  swim,  which  had 
cooled  his  skin,  and  his  dripping  coat  of  hair  served  to 
protect  him  from  the  violent  heat  which  reigned  for  a 
moment. 

"  Fall,"  said  Emmet,  when  the  coast  was  clear, "  Fall, 
little  poys,  ve  kin  ko  to  you'  house  now." 

Walker's  house  was  only  a  mile  distant,  but  they 
reached  it  long  after  the  fire  had  passed,  and  found 
that  Mrs.  Walker  had  been  nearly  wdld  about  her  boys 
until  she  saw  them  coming. 

"  I  might  have  known  you'd  save  'em,"  she  said  to 
Emmet,  while  grateful  tears  ran  down  her  face,  as  she 
listened  to  the  story  of  their  escape.  Their  cattle  had 
taken  fright  and  come  home  about  an  hour  before. 


XI. 

CAUGHT  IN  A  BLIZZARD. 

The  tremendous  hurricane  of  snow  and  wind  which 
swept  over  our  great,  level  Northwest  in  January, 
1888,  was  accompanied  by  incidents  tragic,  thrilling 
and  heroic,  that  will  no  doubt  become  a  part  of  the 
history  of  the  vast  region  over  which  the  storm 
swept. 

In  northwestern  Iowa  the  blizzard  descended  with 
a  suddenness  and  fury  which  made  the  early  settlers 
shudder  as  they  thought  of  the  barren,  unprotected 
prairies  of  fifteen  or  twenty  years  before.  "  If  'twasn- 1 
for  our  maple  and  Cottonwood  groves  and  big  fields  of 
cornstalks,"  said  they,  "  wouldn't  we  ketch  it  ?" 

Happily,  we  had  these  protections,  and  suffered 
neither  loss  of  life  nor  great  inconvenience,  though  we 
complained  more  or  less  because  our  daily  mails  were 
cat  off  and  our  freights  delayed  even  for  a  short 
period.  But  really  our  most  important  grievance  when 
we  are  visited  by  these  occasional  fierce  storms  in 
winter  is  the  stoppage  of  hay  hauling,  pressing  and 
sliipping,  which  is  our  chief  industry  at  that  season. 

It  was  in  connection  with  hay  hauling  in  one  of  our 
marshy,  unsettled  townships  that  there  occurred  an 
incident  of  extreme  peril,  of  fortitude  and  intelligent 
exercise  of  the  faculties  amid  great  danger,  which,  at 
the  time  it  came  to  light,  was  almost  lost  sight  of  in 
our  interest  in  the  widespread  calamities  which  fell 
upon  our  unprepared  neighbors  on  the  more  newly 
settled  prairies  of  the  North  and  West. 

115 


116  FKONTIEU    SKETCHES. 

The  little  railway  station  of  Dupont,  in  one  of  tho 
thinly  settled  districts,  was  built  entirely  in  the  inter- 
ests of  the  hay -pressing  business,  for  which  the  unin- 
habited flats  of  Lowland  and  Gull  Lake  townships 
furnish  thousands  of  tons  of  grass. 

The  land  in  these  townships  is  mostly  owned  by 
Eastern  speculators,  who  obtained  it  cheaply  under  the 
first  Entry  Laws  and  the  Swamp  Land  Act.  Although 
much  of  it  is  excellent  farm  land,  these  owners  have 
held  the  price  so  high  as  to  keep  off  the  actual  settlers 
entirely.  This  they  have  been  able  to  do  by  renting 
the  lands  for  pasturage  and  haymaking,  and  getting 
enough  out  of  the  rent  to  pay  the  taxes,  and  even  in 
some  cases  a  fair  interest  on  the  first  investment,  which 
was  extremely  small. 

Over  this  tract,  a  dozen  miles  in  extent,  as  far  back 
from  the  railway  as  hay  can  be  hauled  with  profit,  are 
scattered  every  summer  the  camps  of  the  ha^'makers, 
and  the  low  ricks  or  "  stacks "  grow  and  accumulate 
until  they  dot  the  prairie  so  thickly  as  to  become  for 
the  time  the  distinguishing  feature  of  the  landscape. 

There  are  at  the  station  large  hay  barns,  containing 
steam  presses,  to  which,  from  September  until  April, 
the  hay  is  hauled,  stowed  and  baled,  ready  for  ship- 
ment. 

Among  those  who  were  hauling  hay  at  the  time  of 
the  great  storm  were  Dick  Jordan  and  his  small 
brother  Orr — named  after  an  Iowa  statesman — a  little 
fellow,  too  young  to  attend  school  regularly,  who  went 
along  on  pleasant  days  to  tramp  down  the  hay  in  the 
frame  of  the  big  rack. 

It  had  been  pleasant  enough  for  Orr  to  go  on  every 
trip  that  week  up  to  the  night  of  the  blizzard,  and  the 


FRONTIER   SKETCHES.  lit 

day  was  so  warm  and  fine  that  Dick's  sisters,  Jeanie 
and  Carrie,  younger  than  himself  but  older  than  Orr, 
obtained  the  permission  of  their  teacher  to  go  home  at 
recess,  in  order  that  they  might  go  with  their  brothers 
for  a  ride  to  the  hay -field.  Their  mother  had  promised 
that  they  should  go  upon  the  first  warm  day  after 
sleighing  came. 

They  arrived  at.  the  house  just  as  Dick  and  Orr 
drove  up  for  a  lunch,  before  going  after  their  last  load 
for  the  day,  and,  as  it  would  be  dark  before  they  could 
get  back,  the  girls,  too,  got  each  a  slice  of  bread  and 
cold  meat  to  munch  on  the  road. 

Dick  spread  two  heavy  horse-blankets,  which  were 
always  carried  in  winter  to  throw  over  his  horses  when 
standing,  upon  one  of  the  bottom  boards  of  the  rack, 
and  seated  Jeanie  and  Carrie  upon  them.  Then,  little 
dreaming  what  was  before  them,  the  brothers  and  sis- 
ters drove  swiftly  out  upon  a  new  sleigh  road,  which 
led  them  for  several  miles  over  a  prairie  almost  as  level 
as  a  barn  floor. 

The  haystacks  were  reached,  and  while  the  boys 
worked  at  their  loading,  the  little  girls  raced  about, 
tumbled  in  the  hay,  or  rolled  snowballs  as  they  pleased. 

The  load  of  hay  was  taken  from  the  bottom  of  a 
stack  around  which  the  snow  had  drifted,  thawed  and 
frozen  until  much  of  the  outside  hay  had  to  be  cut 
loose  with  an  axe  or  freed  with  a  shovel,  both  of  which 
implements  Dick  carried  for  that  purpose.  It  took 
much  longer  than  usual  to  load  upon  this  occasion,  and 
evening  was  already  drawing  on  when  finally  the  little 
girls  were  helped  upon  the  load  and  the  team  was 
turned  toward  home. 

It  had  been  mild  and  thawing  all  day,  so  mild, 


118  FRONTIER    SKETCHES.     ' 

indeed,  that  Dick  had  feared  that  this  would  be  their 
last  trip  with  a  sleigh  until  snow  should  come  again  ; 
but  as  he  climbed  upon  the  load  to  start  for  home,  he 
noticed  that  a  heavy  gray  bank  had  formed  across  the 
western  sky,  and  that  it  seemed  to  be  growing  thick 
overhead.     The  air  had  suddenly  become  rather  chilly. 

He  told  his  brother  and  sisters  that  it  would  snow 
before  they  got  home,  and  that  they  bad  better  "  cuddle 
down"  in  the  hay  and  throw  the  horse-blankets  over 
their  laps.  He  drove  forward  for  a  few  minutes,  urging 
the  horses  to  a  half-trot,  and  uneasily  glancing  toward 
the  dense  gray  bank,  which  rapidly  overcast  the  west 
and  north,  and  threw  a  gloom  and  cold  in  advance,  as 
it  approached. 

The  darkness  came  on  rapidly,  and  soon  the  roar  of 
a  high  wind  broke  upon  Dick's  ears. 

"  It's  a  blizzard!  "he  thought,  with  alarm,  for  he  had 
been  bred  upon  the  JSTorthwest  Prairies,  and  knew  the 
danger  of  being  caught  out  upon  that  mowed  flat,  so 
far  from  any  houses,  for  the  nearest  dwelling  was  that 
of  a  farmer  across  Gull  Lake,  two  miles  and  a  half  to 
the  southeast. 

He  had  not  much  time  to  think  or  to  exercise  his 
fears  before  the  great  storm  was  upon  them. 

It  was  nothing  less  than  a  hurricane  from  the  begin- 
ning, and  at  the  first  fierce  gust  the  big  unwieldly  rack 
careened  with  its  load  so  that  the  little  girls  screamed 
with  fright,  and  the  horses  stopped  and  stood  turning 
their  heads  away  from  the  pelting  sleet  which  drove 
down  at  the  first  burst  of  the  storm. 

The  air  was  filled  instantly  with  the  driving  ice. 

Dick  shouted  at  the  animals  and  slapped  at  them 
with  the  lines,  but  they  could  not  be  induced  to  turn 


FRONTIER   SKETCHES.  119 

their  heads  against  the  storm.  They  stood  as  if  para- 
lyzed by  the  fierce  blast  of  wind  and  sleet.  Another 
and  more  furious  sweep  of  the  hurricane  came  almost 
immediately,  and  this  time  the  rack  was  lifted  com- 
pletely off  the  sled  and  overturned  with  hay  and  riders. 

Fortunately,  there  was  a  considerable  drift  of  snow 
beside  the  road,  and  neither  Dick  nor  the  younger 
children  were  hurt  by  the  fall.  They  had  all,  with  a 
common  impulse,  jumped  from  the  top  of  the  load  as 
it  careened  over,  and  so  fell,  or  rather  tumbled,  outside 
the  sweep  of  the  rack. 

As  they  scrambled  to  their  feet  the  stiff  wind  was  so 
filled  with  hay  and  snow  that  they  could  scarcely  dis- 
tinguish each  other.  The  rack  turned  bottom  side  up, 
and,  as  it  was  built  in  the  shape  of  a  "  figure  four  " 
quail  trap,  held  most  of  the  hay  securely  beneath  its 
frame. 

Dick  still  held  to  one  of  the  lines,  and  the  horses 
stood  shivering  with  fear  and  cold,  for  the  temperature 
had  suddenly  dropped  far  below  the  freezing  point. 

"  Get  behind  the  rack  out  of  the  wind!  "  he  screamed 
to  the  younger  ones,  who  were  clinging  to  each  other 
in  the  endeavor  to  stand  up  before  the  raging  wind. 
They  obeyed  him,  and,  hugging  close  against  the  frame- 
work, found  themselves  protected  from  the  cutting 
blast,  but  snow  and  sleet  whirled  over  the  top  and 
about  the  ends  in  blinding  scurries. 

Dick  knew  instinctively  that  to  attempt  to  get  those 
children  on  the  bare  sled  and  to  drive  them  to  a  place 
of  safety  only  meant  certain  death  to  them  all.  In  the 
first  place,  it  would  require  all  their  strength  to  cling 
on.  Moreover,  they  could  not  endure  a  half-hour  even 
of  such  exposure  to  the  storm.     "With  darkness  coming 


120  FKONTIEK  SKETCHES. 

on  find  the  air  filled  with  driving  snow,  there  was  the 
barest  possibility  of  his  being  able  to  find  a  house — it 
could  only  be  found  by  running  against  it  or  into  a 
yard — even  if  he  should  be  able  to  drive  and  keep  the 
children  alive  all  night. 

His  plans  were  quickly  made,  and  a  man  twice  his 
age  could  not  have  made  them  with  greater  good  sense, 
or  have  shown  a  braver  spirit  in  their  execution. 

He  stripped  the  harness  from  his  horses  and  turned 
them  loose.  Then,  without  waiting  even  to  see  which 
direction  the  animals  took,  he  ran  to  his  brothers  and 
sisters. 

Although  it  had  been  so  warm  when  they  started 
from  home,  their  mother  had  insisted  that  Jeanie  and 
Cari'ie  should  dress  warmly,  and  take  cloaks  and  com- 
forters with  them.  These  they  had  put  on  before  the 
storm  came,  and  Dick,  after  digging  in  the  hay  for  a 
few  minutes  between  the  boards  of  the  rack,  discov- 
ered the  horse-blankets  upon  which  the  children  had 
fortunately  been  siCting  when  the  load  overturned. 

"While  digging  for  them  he  had  prepared  a  "  nest," 
as  he  termed  it,  for  the  three  small  ones,  and  he  now 
ordered  them  to  get  in  there  while  he  tucked  the 
blankets  around  them.  Frightened  and  hushed  by  the 
terrific  storm,  they  obeyed  without  a  murmur,  and  the 
brave  young  fellow  told  them  that  they  must  "  cuddle 
close  together  and  never  peep  outside  "  till  they  heard 
him  call  them. 

He  said  that  he  would  go  and  bring  them  something 
to  eat  as  soon  as  he  could  get  back  from  Mr.  Walde- 
man's  across  Gull  Lake,  and  then  after  the  blizzard 
was  over  they  would  all  go  home. 

He  knew  the  snow  would  drift  over  them  in  a  very 


FRONTIER   SKETCHES.  121 

few  minutes,  and  believed  that  if  they  kept  quiet  their 
breath  would  warm  the  "nest"  and  no  doubt  keep 
them  alive  for  many  hours.  But  he  knew  also  that 
such  blizzards  have  been  known  to  last  with  unabated 
fury  for  two  or  three  days,  and  that  there  was  little 
likelihood  of  their  being  able  to  outlast  such  a  storm. 
Therefore,  his  only  hope  was  to  reach  help  if  possible, 
and  get  it  to  them  the  moment  it  should  be  possible  to 
breast  the  blizzard. 

Gull  Lake  lay  over  a  mile  distant,  directly  to  the 
southeast.  It  was  one  mile  and  a  half  across  it,  and  on 
the  other  side  lay  Waldeman's  ranch,  a  large  group  of 
buildings,  dwelling,  barns  and  shedding  for  stock, 
enclosed  by  a  large  yard  which  stretched  along  the  lake 
shore  for  forty  rods  or  more. 

Dick  hoped  that  he  might  be  able  to  reach  this  ranch 
and  to  find  it. 

Buttoning  his  overcoat  tightly  about  him  and  pullino- 
a  "  ITorwegian  cap  "  which  he  wore  tightly  down  over 
his  ears,  he  set  out,  going  directly  with  the  storm, 
which  came  from  the  northwest. 

He  started  at  a  stiff  run.  The  wind  nearly  lifted 
him  off  his  feet  at  every  step,  and  cut  the  backs  of  his 
legs  and  the  sides  of  his  cheeks  icily. 

He  soon  found  it  impossible  to  tell  whether  he  was 
going  directly  with  the  wind  or  not,  as  it  blew  in 
changeful  gusts  and  whirled  violently  about  him.  But 
there  was  a  mile  of  lake  shore  in  front,  and  he  reached 
it  at  length  and  found  himself  upon  the  ice. 

It  had  now  grown  dark,  and  amidst  the  pitchy 
blackness  of  night  and  the  thick  drift  of  snow  he  could 
no  longer  make  use  of  his  eyes.  In  fact,  he  was 
obliged  to  shut  them  and  allow  himself  to  be  carried 


122  FRONTIER   SKKTCHES. 

over  the  ice  by  the  wind.  A  part  of  the  time  he  was 
able  to  keep  his  feet,  but  often  he  was  thrown  forward 
and  actually  blown  over  the  rough  ice  for  rods.  The 
skirt  of  his  overcoat  occasionally  blew  over  his  head, 
and  the  bitter  wind  pierced  every  part  of  his  body. 

It  was  a  rough  and  terrible  experience  getting  across 
the  lake,  and  he  was  glad  he  had  not  attempted  to  take 
his  brother  and  sisters  with  him. 

When  lie  at  length  reached  the  southern  bank,  he 
was  so  chilled  and  exhausted  that  he  could  scarcely 
keep  his  feet  at  all.  The  bank  was  high  at  the  point 
wliere  he  reached  it,  and  he  knew  it  could  not  be 
opposite  the  ranch  fence,  as  the  high  bank  was  west  of 
that.  So  he  turned,  and  alternately  walked  and 
crawled  eastward,  guided  in  that  direction  by  the  wind. 

For  a  long  time  he  forced  his  way  along  the  edge  of 
the  ice,  which  was  swept  bare,  guided  by  the  sense  of 
feeling  and  the  direction  of  the  wind,  but  at  length  he 
stumbled  agamst  something  and  joyfully  discovered  it 
to  be  a  fence. 

As  it  afterward  proved,  it  was  an  extension  of  the 
cattle-yard,  a  corner  of  which  was  built  down  into  the 
edge  of  the  lake  to  afford  water  for  the  stock,  and  had 
he  missed  it  by  even  a  few  feet  he  would  undoubtedly 
have  perished. 

The  discovery  of  it  gave  him  new  life  at  once  and 
aroused  all  his  faculties.  He  climbed  over  the  fence  so 
as  to  get  inside  the  yard,  and  then,  by  feeling,  followed 
it  until  he  came  to  a  connection  with  the  cattle-sheds. 

Once  in  the  shelter  of  these,  he  whipped  his  numbed 
arms  and  stamped  his  chilled  feet  until  circulation  was 
partly  restored,  then  felt  his  way  along  to  the  barn,  and 
at  length  managed  to  reach  the  ranch  dwelling,  guided 


FRONTIER  SKETCHES  123 

by  the  glimmer  of  a  light  which  he  could  see  through 
the  storm. 

He  was  welcomed  and  warmed  and  fed,  and  promised 
that  by  every  possible  effort  that  could  be  made  the 
men  should  help  him  to  rescue  his  brother  and  sisters 
when  daylight  came. 

Dick  found  that  he  had  escaped  with  only  a  slight 
frosting  of  his  face  and  fingers,  but  his  anguish  on 
account  of  the  little  ones  he  had  left  buried  in  the  hay 
was  intense.  He  did  not  sleep  at  all,  but  walked  the 
floor  of  the  ranch  kitchen,  where  he  was  allowed  to 
keep  a  roaring  fire  all  night.  Every  few  moments  he 
would  go  to  the  windows,  scratch  the  frost,  and 
endeavor  to  peer  out  into  the  storm. 

He  could  gather  no  encouragement  until  daylight, 
when  he  discovered  that  the  snow  was  no  longer  fall- 
ing, and  that  the  sky  would  soon  be  clear. 

He  roused  the  ranch  hands  at  once,  as  two  of  them 
had  agreed  to  go  with  him. 

In  a  short  time  the  men  were  up.  Some  hot  coffee 
was  drunk,  a  jug  of  it  was  filled  from  the  pot,  and  a 
sharp-shod  team  was  harnessed.  The  horses  were 
blindfolded,  their  heads  wrapped  in  blankets  to  protect 
them  from  the  blinding  drift,  which  was  still  driving 
hard  from  the  northwest. 

This  team  was  hitched  to  a  double  sleigh  filled  with 
robes  and  wraps.  Then,  muffling  themselves  in  the 
bottom  of  the  box,  the  party  set  out  across  the  lake  in 
the  very  teeth  of  the  wind. 

The  horses  were  old  and  steady,  and,  after  some 
snorting  and  tossing  of  the  heads,  as  a  protest  against 
the  novelty  of  complete  "  blinds,"  took  a  steady  hard 
trot  over  the  corrugated  ice. 


124  FKONTIER   SKETCHES. 

On  reaching  the  farther  shore  of  the  lake  and 
ascending  to  the  prairie,  Dick,  with  his  head  completely 
muffled  to  the  eyes,  took  a  standing  position  and, 
bracing  himself,  directed  the  movements  of  the  driver. 
The  short  distance  of  a  mile  and  the  steady  direction 
of  the  wind  enabled  him  to  hit  the  hay-road  at  a  point 
so  close  to  the  overturned  rack  that  he  caught  sight  of 
the  top  of  it  as  they  were  passing  some  rods  distant. 

A  moment  later  they  had  halted  and  tied  the  team, 
and  Dick  had  pointed  out  the  spot  where  his  compan- 
ions were  to  dig.  Then,  utterly  overcome,  he  threw 
himself  upon  the  drift  and  buried  his  face  in  his  arms. 
Ilis  grief  and  suspense  at  that  moment  were  almost 
beyond  endurance  lie  had  no  idea  that  the  cliildren 
could  have  survived  such  a  fearful  night.  But  five 
minutes  of  silent  digging  occupied  his  companions,  and 
at  the  end  of  that  time  both  of  them  gave  a  trium- 
phant shout. 

They  had  uncovered  the  nest  and  a  cloud  of  steam 
rose  up  from  tlie  blankets.  Dick  was  on  his  feet 
instantly.  A  moment  later  the  three  young  Jordans 
were  dragged  forth,  alive,  but  stupid  with  cold  and  a 
drowsiness  which  would  not  have  left  them  alive  many 
hours  longer.  Yet  they  had  escaped  any  serious  frost- 
bite, and  a  dexterous  rubbing,  shaking  and  jouncing 
restored  their  circulation  and  their  senses.  They  were 
bundled  into  the  sleigh  amid  robes  and  comforters,  and, 
despite  the  severity  of  the  weather  and  the  drifting 
snow,  were  taken  immediately  toward  home,  where 
their  welcome  must  be  imagined 

One  of  Dick's  horses  perished  in  the  storm,  but  the 
other  turned  up  alive  and  well  the  next  day  at  a  far- 
mer's stables  twelve  miles  south  of  Gull  Lake. 


XII 

A  FORTUNATE  CYCLONE. 

"  Ben  down  to  'Squire  Brennan's,  Mose  ?  " 

The  speaker  was  a  sturdy  farmer,  who  stood  mop- 
ping the  moisture  from  his  brow  just  outside  the  lane 
fence  which  divided  his  snug  farm  from  that  of  his 
nearest  neighbor. 

Moses  Bently  drew  the  reins  tightly  across  the  neck 
of  his  dripping  horse,  and  with  a  sharp  "  "Whoa ! " 
flung  himself  out  of  the  saddle. 

"Yes,"  said  he;  "I've  ben  thar;"  and  pulling  a 
huge  bandanna  from  his  pocket,  he  took  off  his  hat 
and  followed  the  example  of  his  neighbor  across  the 
fence. 

"  Jones,"  exclaimed  he,  with  vehemence,  "  but  ain't 
this  a  scorcher  ?  Never  seed  sech  hot  weather  in  the 
last  of  August,  Cuttin'  up  corn,  air  ye  ?  Bless  me, 
man !  you'll  drop  fust  ye  know,  an'  hev  to  be  laid  in 
the  shade." 

"Not's  long's  I  can  keep  up  a  sweat,"  replied  Jones, 
coming  forward  from  the  corn  shocks  and  leaning 
upon  the  fence.  "  But  say,  Mose,  what's  that  rumpus 
'bout  over  in  your  neighborhood  ?  "What's  the  row 
'tween  Blake  an'  Miller,  anyhow  ?  I  hear  they've  ben 
down  to  Brennan's  lawin'  it  to-day." 

"Yaas,"  returned  Moses,  "  they've  ben  tliar  lawin' 
it,  an'  they^re  likely  to  keep  on  lawin'  to  the  end  o' 
ther  days.  But  mercy,  Jones !  I  can't  stand  in  this 
hot  sun  tellin'  ye  'bout  it." 

"  Come  under  the  shadder  o'  this  plum-tree  here," 

126 


126  FRONTIKK    SKETCHES. 

walking  toward  a  large  branching  plum  which  stood, 
loaded  with  fruit,  just  iiisido  the  fence.  "  Here's  a 
good  place  to  set  down  an'  cool  yerself  off,"  he  added, 
as  Mose  finished  tying  his  animal  and  climbed  over  the 
fence. 

"  Yaas,"  said  Moses,  again,  as  he  seated  himself  beside 
Jones  at  the  foot  of  the  tree,  lifted  his  broad-brimmed 
straw  hat  and  drew  one  hickory  shirt  sleeve  across  his 
beady  forehead.  "  Yaas,  they'll  law  it  now  s'  long's 
they  live,  an'  in  the  end  all  they'll  have'll  go  to  pay  up 
costs.  I  left  their  lawyers  argyin'  'fore  Squire  Bren- 
nan,  an'  a  picked  jury  that  didn't  know  nothin'  'bout 
the  case,  nor  nothin'  'bout  anything  else  if  I'm  any 
judge ;  jest  like  most  o'  the  men  that  gets  on  juries, 
though ;  lot  o'  loafers,  reg'lar  nuisances,  that's  just  got 
pride  'nougli  t'  keep  'em  out  o'  the  poorhouse. 

"  Squire  Brennan  did  his  best,  jest  as  he  al'ays  does, 
to  get  'em  to  settle ;  but  bless  ye !  'twa'n't  any  use. 
They're  madder  'n  hornets,  both  of  'era.  I  went  down 
as  a  witness,  but  what  I  knew  didn't  amount  to 
nothin'  'n'  I  jest  got  disgusted  with  their  wranglin', 
an'  when  they   was  done  with  me  I  come  away  an," — 

"  But  what's  it  all  about  ?  "  broke  in  Jones.  "Air 
the}^  fightin'  'bout  that  new  survey  ?  " 

"  Waal,  yaas,  that's  at  the  bottom  of  it,  but  they 
wouldn't  had  no  trouble  'bout  that,  1  guess,  if  't  hadn't 
been  for  them  harvest-apple  trees  on  Blake's  line,  that 
he  set  out  when  he  first  moved  onto  the  place.  There's 
only  five  or  six  of  em,  and  they  don't  bear  a  great 
sight  of  apples,  either ;  but  they're  good,  what  there  is 
of  'em,  an'  dead  ripe  now.  You  see,  Blake  sot  'em  out 
right  on  his  south  line,  or  jest  as  near  as  he  could,  an' 
not  have  'em  grow  so's  to  spread  acrost.     Wall,  the 


FRONTIER   SKETCHES.  127 

Gov'ment  surveyors  was  jest  as  drunk  when  they  run 
the  lines  over  Section  Twelve  as  they  was  when  they 
laid  out  the  rest  o'  this  township,  an'  so  this  new  sur- 
vey sets  them,  apple-trees  jest  inside  Miller's  north 
line. 

"  There  ain't  any  question,  of  •  course,"  continued 
Moses,  "  not  the  least  sprinklin'  o'  doubt  that  Miller's 
got  a  legal  right  to  them  apple-trees,  ef  the  last  survey 
is  c'rect,  an'  he's  mean  enough — which  it  seems  he  is — 
to  claim  'em.  But  it  seems  that  Blake  hadn't  no  idea 
that  Miller  would  lay  any  claim  to  the  apples,  or  that 
he  re'ly  intended  to  have  the  line-fence  sot  over,  bein' 
as  'twas  only  a  matter  of  two  feet  or  so,  an'  'specially 
so  long's  there  was  a  chance  to  dispute  the  last  lay-out 
an'  set  up  the  old  Gov'ment  one  agin. 

"The  new  survey,  ye  know,  was  made  last  June,  an' 
the  change  o'  lines  'tween  Blake  an'  Miller  was  so 
leetle  that  Blake  never  thought  o'  speakin'  of  it,  only 
jest  in  a  jokin'  way.  Ye  see,  the  west  line  o'  Section 
Twelve  was  changed  much  as  three  rods ;  but  as  the 
odds  was  all  in  favor  of  both  of  'em,  an'  had  to  come 
out  o'  the  public  road,  which  hadn't  ben  used  but  four 
years,  they  both  felt  toler'ble  good  over  it. 

"  But  as  I  was  sayin',  Blake  hadn't  no  idea  that 
Miller'd  make  trouble  about  the  middle  line,  as  there 
was  a  good  solid  fence  that  they'd  both  built  atween 
'em  ;  but  when  his  apples  got  ripe,  he  went  down  one 
day  an'  begun  pickiu'  some  off'm  the  earliest  tree. 
An'  while  he  was  a-pickin'  of  'em,  here  comes  one  o' 
Miller's  boys,  with  a  bag  slung  over  his  arm,  an'  climbs 
over  the  fence. 

"  '  'Mornin',  Joe ! '  says  Blake,  unsuspectin'  as  could 
be.     '  Got  through  harvestin'  ? ' 


128  FRONTIER    SKETCIIKS. 

" '  Yes,'  says  Joe.  '  Thought  we  'd  better  git  some 
o'  these  apples,  now  they're  gittin'  ripe.  Pop  says  they 
belong  to  him  now,  but  you  can  have  half  of  'em  this 
year,  bein'  as  you  put  out  the  trees  ;  or  he'll  pay  ye  for 
your  trouble  in  settin'  'em  out.' 

"  'He  will,  hay?'  snaps  Blake,  settinMown  his  pail 
an'  starin'  at  young  Joe  sarcastical  like.  '  Your  dad's 
a  mighty  generous  fellow,  aint  he,  now?  He'll  give 
me  half  the  apples !  Give  'em  to  me,  will  he  ?  "Waal, 
I  guess  he  will,  for  I  sh'll  take  'em,  the  whole  of  'em, 
not  only  this  year,  but  ev'ry  year,  and  don't  ye  forget 
that  now,  sonny  ! ' 

"At  that,  Joe,  he  kinder  bridled  up  a  leetle.  *■  I  guess 
my  father's  got  a  right  in  the  Ian','  says  he.  'An'  he 
told  me  to  pick  some  o'  these  apples,  an'  I'm  goin'  to 
take  some  of  'em  home  now,'  and  eyin'  Blake  kind  o' 
cautious-like,  he  reached  up  for  a  big  yaller  one  that 
hung  a-tempting  his  jaws  just  above  his  head. 

"  '  Don't  you  touch  that ! '  yells  Blake,  starting  for 
him  in  a  way  that  made  the  boy  dodge  from  under  the 
tree  an'  scramble  for  dear  life  over  the  fence. 

"  Waal,  of  course  Miller  was  madder  'n  a  hornet,  an' 
so,  with  his  new  survey  back  of  him,  he  goes  down  to 
Squire  Brennan's  and  sues  Blake  for  trespass,  an'  sence 
that  time  each  one  of  'em's  had  one  o'  their  boys 
watchin'  them  apples,  day  an'  night,  to  see  't  other'n 
didn't  steal  'em.  They  mount  guard  out  there  like  a 
couple  o'  roosters,  one  on  one  side  the  fence  an'  the 
other  on  t'other.  One  of  'em's  afraid  to  touch  the 
apples,  an'  the  other  dasn't." 

"  What'll  be  the  outcome,  think?'*  asked  Jones,  as 
Moses  paused  in  his  narrative,  and  again  made  use  of 
the  huge  bandanna. 


FKONTIER    SKETCHES.  129 

"  The  outcome  ?  Bless  you,  man,  there  won't  be  no 
outcome  to  it.  Squire  Bremian  can't  decide  the  case, 
an'  if  he  did,  'twouldn't  amount  to  nothin',  an'  no 
decidiu'  ever  will  so  long's  there's  a  higher  court  to 
carry  the  tiling  through,  an'  then  they'll  take  a  fresh 
start  an'  go  through  agin.  This  is  a  case,  ye  see,  for 
trespass,  but  how're  they  goin'  to  make  trespass  out  of 
it  till  they  can  prove  who  the  land  belongs  to  ?  " 

"  I  see,"  said  Jones  ;  "  goin'  to  be  a  nice  wrangle, 
ain't  it?" 

"  I  s'li'd  say  so,"  muttered  Moses.  "  But,  Jones," 
he  added,  getting  upon  his  feet,  "I  must  be  goin'. 
Do  you  see  that  black  cloud  off  in  the  southwest? 
Shouldn't  wonder  if  we'd  git  another  reg'lar  old  twister 
when  that  comes  up,  an  it's  a-coinin',  too." 

"  Thought  I  heard  it  thunderin'  an'  kind  o'  rumblin 
somewhar  a  bit  ago,'"  said  Jones,  rising.  '*  I'm  'fraid 
you're  right,  Mose,  and  I  don't  know  but  it  is  a  good 
plan  for  a  feller  to  be  gettin'  around  close't  to  his 
suller." 

"  Taas,"  returned  Moses.  "  My  wife  and  the  young 
ones  have  jest  about  half-lived  in  my  dug-out  this  sum- 
mer. Every  time  they  see  a  cloud,  they  skedaddle  for 
*  the  house  of  refuge,'  as  Sarah  calls  it." 

"  Beats  all  how  many  o'  them  tornadoes  goes  ragin' 
over  this  country  lately,"  said  Jones;  "'pears  like  a 
man  ainb  safe  nowheres,"  and  bidding  each  other  good- 
day,  the  two  men  separated. 


"  Twister,"  as  a  word  in  Western  parlance,  has 
attained  an  entirely  new  signification  within  the  last 
two  years,  especially  throughout  the  now  famous  storm. 


130  FRONTIER   SKETCHES. 

belt  extending  from  central  Kansas  in  a  northwesterly 
direction  beyond  the  southern  boundary  of  Minnesota. 

The  prevalence  of  those  terrible  storms  known  as 
tornadoes,  cyclones,  and  throughout  this  region  as 
"  twisters,"  has  become  so  alarming  of  late  that  in 
some  of  tlie  counties  of  Iowa  tlie  citizens  take  refuge 
in  their  cellars  during  the  summer  season  at  the  appear- 
ance of  every  dark  and  threatening  cloud. 

In  this  region  a  large  proportion  of  the  farmers  and 
many  of  the  townspeople  dig  out-of-door  cellars,  or 
"under-ground  houses,"  in  which  to  shelter  themselves 
from  the  violence  of  these  atmospheric  disturbances. 

On  nearing  one  of  their  dwellings,  one  notices,  but  a 
few  yards  to  one  side,  a  heaped-up  mound  of  earth, 
with  an  opening  in  one  end  disclosing  the  frame-work 
and  top  of  a  heavy  door,  the  bottom  of  which  is 
reached  by  a  flight  of  steps  cut  into  the  earth  in  front. 
The  whole  is  constructed  much  after  the  pattern  of  the 
summer  milk-house  of  more  Eastern  farmers,  and 
indeed,  most  of  the  dug-outs  are  used  for  that  purpose 
also. 

The  genuine  tornado,  or  "  twister," — the  one  which 
tears  up  everything  in  its  track, — is  generally  preceded 
by  a  short  time  of  hot,  ''muggy"  weather,  and  at 
such  times,  when  the  feather-edged,  dark-centred 
nimbus  floats  lazily  a  mile  or  two  above  the  farmer's 
head,  small  spiral-shaped  projections  are  often  seen 
suddenly  darting  downward  from  their  centres,  curl- 
ing, twisting,  steadily  shooting  ahead,  sometimes 
almost  reaching  the  earth.  Then,  Avith  a  peculiar, 
writhing  motion,  these  snake-like  columns  of  vapor 
break  up  into  little  sections,  or  separate  puflfs,  and 
disappear  as  quickly  as  they  were  formed. 


FRONTIER   SKETCHES.  131 

Sometimes  a  dozen  or  more  may  be  seen  at  a  single 
glance.  On  such  days  it  is  necessary  to  be  on  the  look- 
out, and  if  the  cloud  above  one  of  those  darkcolunms 
grows  suddenly  black  and  emits  flashes  of  lightning, 
followed  by  the  rumble  of  thunder,  the  "  dug-out "  is 
the  only  safe  retreat. 

About  three  o'clock  on  the  particular  afternoon  and 
near  the  locality  of  which  we  write,  the  thermometer 
at  various  places  indicated  98*^  Fahrenheit  in  the 
shade,  and  away  towards  the  horizon  in  the  south  and 
west  could  be  seen  piled-up  masses  of  silver-tinted 
thunder-clouds,  their  lowering  bases  sinKing  almost 
out  of  sight  behind  the  distant  woods  and  fields. 

"  My  !  what  whoppin'  old  thunder-heads  ! "'  thought 
Billings  Blake,  as  he  sat  sweltering  beneath  the  shade 
of  one  of  the  disputed  apple-trees ;  "  guess  Clem 
Miller  11  get  sick  of  his  bargain  sittin'  over  there  on 
the  south  side  of  the  fence.  He  dasn't  come  over  here, 
though,"  he  soliloquized,  ''  'cause  he  knows  I  c'n  lick 
'im  the  best  day  he  ever  saw,  an'  he  knows  I  will,  too, 
if  he  comes." 

Clem  did  have  a  pretty  hard  place,  to  be  sure ;  for, 
to  tell  the  truth,  he  was  afraid  of  young  Blake,  and 
so,  as  there  were  no  trees  on  his  side,  he  was  obliged 
to  content  himself  with  the  small  shelter  afforded  by 
the  green  corn-stalks  which  grew  beside  the  fence. 

"  I  wish  pa'd  never  made  any  row  'bout  these  misera- 
ble old  apple-trees,"  he  grumbled,  as  he  held  his  broad- 
brimmed  hat  high  over  his  head  in  order  to  shelter 
himself  from  the  scorching  rays  which  would  find  their 
way  down  through  the  corn  leaves  ;  "  I  don't  want  to 
be  melted  into  taller  a-watching  them  old  apples  that'll 


132  FRONTIER    SKETCHES. 

rot  in  two  days  after  they're  picked.  I  don't  like  the 
looks  of  them  clouds,"  he  added,  a  moment  later. 

"  Haloo,  Clem !  " 

Could  he  believe  his  ears  ?  Yes,  it  was  surely  young 
Billings  Blake  calling  him. 

"  Want's  me  to  come  over  there,  and  then  lick  me," 
growled  Clem. 

"  I  say,  Clem,"  bawled  young  Blake  again.  "  Clem, 
jest  get  up  an'  look  over  the  hill  yender.  I  believe 
there's  a  twister  a-comin'." 

Clem  got  up  and  looked. 

'"Tis  sure  enough,  Bill,"  he  answered.  "Do  ye 
reckon  it  will  come  this  way  sure  ?  " 

"Dun  no,"  said  Billings.  "I  say, Clem,  come  over 
here  an'  let's  watch  the  thing!  " 

It  is  curious  how  a  common  danger  transforms  the 
bitterest  enemies  into  the  best  of  friends.  Clem  got 
over  the  fence  without  the  slightest  hesitation,  and  in 
a  moment  the  two  boys,  who  just  before  would  not 
have  deigned  to  speak  to  each  other,  stood  together, 
gazing  in  common  fear  and  wonder  upon  a  scene  that 
once  witnessed  is  never  forgotten. 

Away  to  the  southwest,  several  of  those  silvery- 
edged,  harmless-looking  clouds  had  grown  together, 
and  were  rapidly  approaching.  Their  sun-tinted  col- 
umns had  suddenly  changed  color,  and,  black  and 
angry,  they  were  tumbling  together  in  ugly  broken 
masses,  while  forks  of  jagged  lightning  darted  across 
their  lowering  sides,  and  the  distant  growl  of  thunder 
could  be  distinctly  heard. 

The  wind  sprang  up,  and  began  to  stir  the  leaves  of 
the  apple-trees,  and  to  rustle  the  broad  blades  of  corn, 
while  black  masses  of  vapor  swept  hurriedly  across  the 


t^KONTIER    SKETCHES.  l33 

sky,  obscuring  the  sun,  and  hurling  themselves  into  the 
very  midst  of  the  huge  pile,  thus  constantly  swelling 
its  already  enormous  proportions. 

"  Mercy !  "  said  Clem,  catching  at  his  hat  as  a  fresh 
gust  of  wind  swept  past.  "  Mercy  !  Bill,  the  wind's  a- 
blowin'  from  ev'ry  direction,  an'  jest  look  at  them 
clouds ;  they're  a-comin'  from  every  way,  an'  goin'  every 
where.     Don't  ye  think  we'd  better  git  for  shelter  ?  " 

"Where  sh'll  we  go,  Clem,  to  better  ourselves?" 
asked  his  companion.  "  Ye  can't  tell  where  she'll  strike 
the  hardest,  and  fer  one,  I'd  rather  bo  in  the  open 
field  than  in  the  woods  when  there's  a  hurricane  comin'. 
But  jest  look  at  'er." 

Even  as  he  spoke,  the  roar  of  the  approaching  hurri- 
cane drowned  his  voice,  and  a  round  black  column, 
darting  down  from  the  center  of  the  hurrying  mass, 
struck  the  timber  across  the  hill  with  a  roar  and  a  crash 
that  was  fairly  deafening. 

"  Eun,  Clem  !  Git  for  the  field  !  "  yelled  Bill ;  and 
the  frightened  boys  scurried  away  toward  the  north, 
and  the  fifty  yards'  run  which  they  were  then  able  to 
make  probably  saved  their  lives. 

On  came  the  twisting,  writhing  storm,  tearing  the 
earth,  trees,  grain  and  fences  in  its  track,  and  filling 
the  air  with  a  hideous  din.  Swiftly  as  the  boys  ran, 
they  were  not  fleet-footed  enough  to  escape  the  effect 
of  the  fearful  side  wind  which  accompanied  the  whirl- 
ing cloud. 

Clem  felt  his  legs  suddenly  wrenched  from  under  him, 
and  in  a  trice  found  himself  turning  the  most  astonish- 
ing summersaults  he  had  ever  dreamed  of.  His  hat 
and  shirt  were  literally  torn  away  from  him,  and  a 
moment  later,  scratched,  bruised,    and    lacerated   by 


134  FRONTIER   SKETCHES. 

the  corn  stubs  over  which  he  had  been  tumbled,  he 
found  himself  lying  on  his  back  in  a  deep,  dead  furrow, 
with  six  inches  of  muddy   water  slushing  around  him. 

Bill  had  fared  but  little  better,  as,  spattered  with 
mud  and  bleeding  from  half-a-dozen  bruises,  he  picked 
himself  up  from  between  two  corn  rows,  where  he  had 
been  carried  bodily. 

'•  We  are  in  a  bad  fix,  sure,"  said  Bill,  "  But  jest 
look  down  yonder  in  the  track  of  'er,  will  ye  ?  There's 
a  strip  forty  rods  wide  where  there  aintathing  standin', 
an'  the  ground's  all  ploughed  ready  for  winter  wheat. 
Yes,  an' — an' — an' — can  I  believe  my  eyes — tlie  apple 
trees  are  goneP'' 

"  If  they  haint !  "  answered  Clem.  "  Hurrah,  Bill ! 
your  dad  an'  mine'll  quit  their  quarrellin'  now,  won't 
they,  an'  we'll  all  be  friends  an  hunt  ducks  together 
like  we  used  to  ? " 


l5 


LIBP 


